If the party giving notice of a deposition fails to attend or proceed with it, the court shall impose a monetary sanction under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 2023.010) against that party, or the attorney for that party, or both, and in favor of any party attending in person or by attorney, unless it finds that the one subject to the sanction acted with substantial justification or that other circumstances make the imposition of the sanction unjust.
§ 2025.430.Failure to attend or proceed with deposition by party giving notice; sanctions; exceptions
Title 4. Civil Discovery Act · Chapter 9. Oral Deposition Inside California · Article 4. Objections, Sanctions, Protective Orders, Motions to Compel, and Suspension of Depositions · Enacted 2004 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 2025.430 requires a court to impose a monetary sanction against a party who notices a deposition and then fails to attend or proceed with it, in favor of anyone who showed up, unless the failure was substantially justified or a sanction would be unjust.
Full Text of § 2025.430
Plain-English Summary
Noticing a deposition and then not showing up wastes everyone else's time and money, and this section makes that costly. If the party who gave notice of a deposition fails to attend, or attends but does not proceed with it, the court has to impose a monetary sanction against that party, that party's attorney, or both.
The sanction runs in favor of any party who did show up, in person or through an attorney, expecting the deposition to happen. As with the other sanction provisions throughout this chapter, the court can excuse the sanction if it finds the absent party acted with substantial justification or that some other circumstance would make imposing it unjust, but the default is a sanction, not a pass.
Frequently Asked Questions
What triggers a sanction under this section?
The noticing party failing to attend, or attending but not proceeding with, the deposition it scheduled.
Who benefits from the sanction?
Any party who attended, in person or by attorney, expecting the deposition to go forward.
Can the noticing party avoid the sanction?
Yes, by showing substantial justification or that a sanction would be unjust under the circumstances.
Amendment History
(Added by Stats.2004, c. 182 (A.B.3081), § 23, operative July 1, 2005.)
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the West's Annotated California Codes / Thomson Reuters. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: sanction for no show deposition californiaparty fails to attend own deposition