Art. 1452.Effect of Taking Or Using Depositions; Deposing Attorneys of Record

Paragraph A of Article 1452 draws a line between taking a deposition and using one. Deposing a person, on its own, does not make them your witness for any purpose — you can depose a hostile witness without adopting them. But if the deposition, or part of it, is introduced into evidence for a purpose beyond contradicting or impeaching the deponent, that act does make the deponent the witness of the party who introduced it. The one exception is an adverse party's use of a party-opponent's deposition under Article 1450(2), which does not carry that consequence. Either side, whoever introduced the deposition, may still rebut any relevant evidence it contains at trial or the hearing.

Paragraph B protects a different interest: the integrity of the litigation itself. No attorney of record for the plaintiff or the defendant can be deposed except under extraordinary circumstances, and even then only by order of the district court issued after a contradictory hearing — one where both sides are heard. The rule guards against using a deposition of opposing counsel as a tactic to harass, disqualify, or gain a strategic edge over the lawyer running the case.