§ 2028.040.Objection to form of question; time to

Form objections in a written deposition work on a strict clock. A party who thinks a question is improperly phrased has to serve a specific objection to it, directed at every party entitled to notice, within 15 days after the question was served. Missing that window waives the objection entirely, so a party can't sit on a defective question and raise it for the first time after the deposition officer has already propounded it.

Raising the objection isn't the end of the process, though. The objecting party has to promptly move the court to sustain it, backed by a meet-and-confer declaration confirming the parties tried to resolve the dispute themselves first. Unless and until the court sustains the objection, the deposition officer still asks the deponent the question, just subject to that pending objection as to form. And there's a real cost to guessing wrong: the court has to impose a monetary sanction on whichever side loses the motion, whether that's the party who unsuccessfully sought to sustain the objection or the party who unsuccessfully opposed it, unless the losing side acted with substantial justification or a sanction would otherwise be unjust.