Hawaii depositions: the notice has to warn the witness, in words the rule supplies

Hawaii writes a warning into the deposition notice and then supplies the wording. Leave it out and the witness may lose the right to review their own transcript — which is a problem for the party taking the deposition, not only for the witness.

The prescribed notice to the deponent

Rule 30(b)(8):

The notice shall inform the deponent, of the requirements of subsection (e) of this Rule in substantially the following form: You are hereby notified that you may request a review of the completed transcript or recording of your deposition. You must make this request before the completion of your deposition. If you make such a request, after being notified by the court reporter or other officer taking the deposition that the transcript or recording is available, you will have 30 days to: (1) review the transcript or recording; and (2) if there are changes in form or substance, to sign a statement reciting such changes and the reasons for making them.

Three deadlines are packed into that paragraph, and only one of them is obvious.

The request must be made before the deposition ends. Not afterwards, when the transcript arrives — a witness who says nothing on the day has not asked.

Then 30 days from being told it is available, not from the deposition date.

And the changes must be signed with reasons. A list of corrections without the reasons does not satisfy the rule.

The consequence of omitting the warning falls on the noticing party: failure to substantially comply with the notice requirement before the deposition is completed has effects the rule specifies, so the safest course is to reproduce the wording verbatim in every notice.

For a witness, the practical instruction is simple: if you want to read your transcript, say so on the record before the deposition ends.

Documents with the notice

Rule 30(b)(5) allows the document request to travel with the deposition notice, and imports the other rule's machinery:

The notice to a party deponent may be accompanied by a request made in compliance with Rule 34 of these Rules for the production of documents, electronically stored information, and tangible things at the taking of the deposition. The procedure of Rule 34 of these Rules shall apply to the request.

"The procedure of Rule 34 shall apply" — including its response time. Attaching a document request to a deposition notice does not shorten the time to respond to it, so the deposition has to be far enough out to let that clock run. See Hawaii discovery deadlines for the response periods.

Note the limit: this route works for a party deponent. A non-party needs a subpoena under Rule 45.

Remote depositions

Where a deposition is taken by telephone or other remote means, Rule 30(b) fixes its location: "For the purposes of this Rule and Rules 28 (a), 37(a)(1), and 37(b)(1) of these Rules, a deposition taken by such means is taken in the circuit and at the place where the deponent is to answer questions."

In an island jurisdiction that matters more than usual. The circuit where the witness sits governs the officer requirement under Rule 28(a) and anchors any Rule 37 motion — see the Hawaii motion to compel discovery, which files nonparty motions in the circuit where the deposition is taken.

When leave is required

Rule 30(a)(2) requires leave of court "which shall be granted to the extent consistent with the principles stated in Rule 26 (b)(2)" in the situations the rule lists — the standard limits on cumulative or burdensome discovery, applied to the decision whether an additional deposition may be taken at all.

Objections during the deposition

Rule 30(c) keeps the deposition moving whatever is objected to:

All objections made at the time of the examination to the qualifications of the officer taking the deposition, to the manner of taking it, to the evidence presented, to the conduct of any party, or to any other aspect of the proceedings shall be noted by the officer upon the record of the deposition; but the examination shall proceed, with the testimony being taken subject to the objections.

The design is the same everywhere it appears: note it and carry on. The objection is preserved, the answer is given, and the admissibility question is decided later by the court rather than at the table.

Where the objection is really a refusal — a witness instructed not to answer — the Hawaii motion to compel discovery covers what follows, including the certification requirement and the fee exposure on both sides.

Stopping or limiting a deposition

Rule 30(d) allows the motion in the trial court or the deposition circuit:

At any time during a deposition, on motion of a party or of the deponent and upon a showing that the examination is being conducted in bad faith or in such manner as unreasonably to annoy, embarrass, or oppress the deponent or party, the court in which the action is pending or the court in the circuit where the deposition is being taken may order the officer conducting the examination to cease forthwith from taking the deposition

The standard is the same wherever this provision appears — bad faith, or conduct that unreasonably annoys, embarrasses or oppresses the deponent or a party. It is not a remedy for a deposition that is merely long or hostile. The circuit alternative matters here for the same reason the remote-deposition location rule does: the witness's circuit may be an island away from the case.

A short checklist

Noticing one:

1. Reproduce the Rule 30(b)(8) warning in substantially the prescribed form, in every notice.
2. Attach a Rule 34 request if you want documents from a party, and allow Rule 34's response time.
3. Subpoena a non-party under Rule 45 instead.
4. Check whether leave is needed under Rule 30(a)(2).
5. Note the circuit where a remote deponent will sit; it fixes the officer and the motion forum.

Being deposed:

1. Ask to review the transcript before the deposition ends. Afterwards is too late.
2. Diary 30 days from being told the transcript is available — not from the deposition.
3. Give reasons for every change, and sign the statement.
4. Check the notice for the warning. Its absence is the noticing party's problem, and worth raising.
5. Read the document request on its own terms; Rule 34's procedure governs it.

Where these rules live

• Haw. R. Civ. P. 26 — General Provisions Governing Discovery
• Haw. R. Civ. P. 28 — Persons Before Whom Depositions May Be Taken
• Haw. R. Civ. P. 30 — Depositions Upon Oral Examination
• Haw. R. Civ. P. 32 — Use of Depositions in Court Proceedings
• Haw. R. Civ. P. 34 — Production of Documents and Things
• Haw. R. Civ. P. 45 — Subpoena
• Hawaii discovery deadlines
• Hawaii motion to compel discovery

This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and subsection (e) of Rule 30 sets out the review and signature mechanics in full.