Maine depositions: five per party, and an objection to the camera defers the whole thing

Maine puts a hard number on depositions and a hard list on how they may be recorded. Both are unusual, and both need to be settled before a notice goes out.

Five depositions

Rule 30(a):

Unless otherwise ordered by the court, each party to the action may take no more than 5 depositions.

Five, per party, for the whole case. There is no carve-out for organizational designees, expert witnesses or short depositions — the cap is on depositions taken, and going beyond it takes a court order.

Two consequences worth planning for. Sequence matters: written discovery first, so the five are spent on people whose answers you cannot get on paper. And an organizational deposition is expensive in this currency — a Rule 30(b)(6) notice that produces three designees is a question worth resolving with the other side before you notice it.

Two related provisions sit in the same subdivision. Witness attendance "may be compelled by subpoena as provided in Rule 45," and "[t]he deposition of a person confined in prison may be taken only by leave of court on such terms as the court prescribes."

The recording methods are a closed list

Rule 30(b)(4)(A) enumerates them:

A deposition may be recorded by: (i) Shorthand writing, (ii) Stenotype machine, (iii) Tape recording with multi-track tape, (iv) Video camera recording, or (v) Any other method agreed to by the parties or approved by the court.

Item (v) keeps the list from being a trap, but note what it requires: agreement or approval, not the noticing party's preference. A method outside (i) to (iv) is not available unilaterally.

Whatever method is used must satisfy Rule 30(b)(4)(B): comply with Rule 28, assure an accurate and trustworthy recording, and meet the rule's further criteria.

The notice has to disclose the choice. Rule 30(b)(1) requires it to state "[t]he time and place for taking the deposition and whether a stenographic court reporter will be present to record the deposition" — so the other side knows before they arrive whether a reporter will be in the room.

Three days to object — and the deposition waits

This is the provision that makes the list above matter:

Any party may object to the taking of a deposition on the grounds that the recording method is not one of those approved above, or that the recording method will not comply with one or more of the criteria in subdivision (B) above. Such an objection shall be served in writing and received by the other parties and the court at least 3 days prior to the scheduled date for the deposition. Where such an objection is served, the deposition shall be deferred until such time as the objection is heard by the court.

Note "received," not served — the three days run to receipt, and the court is among the recipients. And the consequence is automatic: a timely objection does not merely preserve a point, it postpones the deposition. For a party facing an unwelcome video deposition, that is a real lever; for the noticing party, it is a reason to confirm the method well before the three-day mark.

The same subdivision constrains the camera itself: "In a video deposition, the camera shall focus only on the witness" and on the exhibits being discussed — no reaction shots of opposing counsel.

When you may start

Rule 30(a) allows a deposition "[a]fter commencement of the action," of "any person, including a party, either within or without the state." The usual restriction on an early plaintiff applies, with the familiar exceptions where the deponent is about to leave the state.

Rule 30(b)(2)'s protection for a party caught short appears here too: a party who shows that when served with an accelerated notice it "was unable through the exercise of diligence to obtain counsel to represent it at the taking of the deposition" is protected against the deposition being used against it.

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, or to the manner of taking it, or to the evidence presented, or to the conduct of any party, and any other objection to the proceedings, shall be noted by the officer upon the deposition. Evidence objected to shall be 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.

An objection to the recording method is the exception to this pattern. Under Rule 30(b)(4) it must be raised in writing three days before the deposition and it defers the deposition altogether — so it is not something to note on the record and carry on with.

Stopping or limiting a deposition

Rule 30(d) directs the motion to the trial court, but any judge of it:

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, any justice or judge of the court in which the action is pending 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. Remember that in Maine a written discovery motion generally needs prior approval under Rule 26(g) — but this provision operates during the deposition itself, when there is no time for that procedure.

A short checklist

Before noticing one:

1. Count your depositions. Five per party, and an order is needed for the sixth.
2. Do the written discovery first so the five are well spent.
3. Resolve a Rule 30(b)(6) notice by agreement where you can; multiple designees are expensive against the cap.
4. Pick a method from the list, or get agreement or approval for anything else.
5. State in the notice whether a court reporter will be present.
6. Get leave for a deposition of someone confined in prison.

If you object:

1. Diary three days before the deposition — the objection must be received by then.
2. Serve the court as well as the parties.
3. Ground it properly — the method is off the list, or fails the accuracy criteria.
4. Expect the deposition to be deferred, not merely noted; the rule says so.

Where these rules live

• Me. R. Civ. P. 26 — General Provisions Governing Discovery
• Me. R. Civ. P. 28 — Persons Before Whom Depositions May Be Taken
• Me. R. Civ. P. 30 — Depositions Upon Oral Examination
• Me. R. Civ. P. 32 — Use of Depositions in Court Proceedings
• Me. R. Civ. P. 45 — Subpoena
• Maine motion to compel discovery
• Responding to a Maine complaint

This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and an individual court's scheduling order may raise or lower the five-deposition limit.