Rule 1.701.Depositions upon oral examination

Rule 1.701(1) states the default: a party may depose any person, including another party, by oral examination without court leave, with the deponent's attendance enforced by subpoena under Rule 1.715. Leave is required in three situations only — taking a deposition before the timing threshold in Rule 1.505(1) without a stipulation, unless the special early-notice procedure in Rule 1.701(2) applies; deposing someone who has already been deposed in the case without a stipulation; and deposing someone confined in prison.

That special early-notice procedure lets a plaintiff depose a witness before the usual timing threshold without seeking leave, if the notice states — and sets out facts supporting — that the person is about to leave the state and will be unavailable unless deposed before ten days after the date set for any defendant's motion or answer. The plaintiff's attorney's signature on that notice certifies, to the best of the attorney's knowledge, information, and belief, that the statement and supporting facts are true. If a party shows it could not, despite diligence, obtain counsel to attend after being served with such a notice, the resulting deposition cannot be used against that party.

The rule also covers the mechanics of where and how depositions happen. The court can enlarge or shorten the time for taking a deposition for cause, and may order non-stenographic recording with directions on how it is preserved and filed, though a party can still arrange a stenographic transcript at its own expense. Oral depositions generally must be taken within Iowa or within 100 miles of the nearest Iowa point, unless the court orders otherwise on a showing that the issue is important enough and the testimony cannot reasonably be obtained by written interrogatories or a telephone deposition; a party deponent, or an officer, partner, or managing agent of a party that is not a natural person, is examined in the county where the action is pending absent a different court order. Telephone depositions are expressly permitted, with the notice stating that the initiating party will arrange and pay for the call, no part of that expense taxed as costs, and the reporter present with the witness unless the parties agree otherwise.

Finally, Rule 1.701(6) shifts expenses when a deposition falls through: if the party who noticed a deposition fails to attend, or fails to serve a subpoena on a witness who then does not appear, and another party shows up anyway expecting the deposition to proceed, the court can order the noticing party to pay that other party's reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees.