(a) If a deponent does not appear for a deposition because the party giving notice of the deposition failed to serve a required deposition subpoena, 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, in favor of any other party who, in person or by attorney, attended at the time and place specified in the deposition notice in the expectation that the deponent's testimony would be taken, unless the court finds that the one subject to the sanction acted with substantial justification or that other circumstances make the imposition of the sanction unjust.
§ 2025.440.Failure of deponent to attend after deposing party failed to serve
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 2025.440 imposes a mandatory sanction on a noticing party who fails to serve a required deposition subpoena and whose deponent consequently does not appear, and authorizes the separate subpoena-disobedience sanctions of Section 2020.240 against a subpoenaed deponent who fails to attend or refuses the oath.
Full Text of § 2025.440
Plain-English Summary
Sometimes a deposition falls apart because the noticing party dropped the ball on paperwork, and sometimes it falls apart because the deponent ignored a validly served subpoena; this section treats those two failures differently. If a deponent does not appear because the noticing party never served the required deposition subpoena, the court must sanction the noticing party, that party's attorney, or both, in favor of any other party who showed up expecting the testimony to happen, unless substantial justification or some other circumstance excuses it.
The second half of the section flips the target. If a deposition subpoena was properly served and the deponent still does not show up, or shows up but refuses to take the oath, the court can turn instead to the sanctions specified in Section 2020.240, the nonparty-discovery provision addressing what happens when someone disobeys a subpoena, which can include treating the refusal as contempt.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if the noticing party never served the required subpoena and the deponent doesn't appear?
A mandatory monetary sanction against the noticing party or attorney, absent substantial justification.
What if the subpoena was served properly but the deponent doesn't show up or won't take the oath?
The court may impose the sanctions available under Section 2020.240, including contempt.
Who does the sanction in the first scenario benefit?
Any other party who attended expecting the testimony to be taken.
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: deponent no show deposition subpoena californiafailure to serve deposition subpoena sanction