California IADC Amicus Update:
Toyota Motor Corporation, et al., v. Superior Court of the
State of California, County of Los Angeles
In a case where the IADC filed an amicus brief on behalf of Toyota, the California Court of Appeal published an opinion on July 27 confirming that California statutes do not currently allow for a California court to compel a foreign witness -- whether from out of state or out of the country -- to come to California for a deposition. Plaintiffs filed in California a product liability action arising from an accident that took place in Idaho, and sought to depose in California five employees of Toyota who were Japanese residents. Toyota responded that the depositions could take place in Japan, but not California, citing a California statute that limits the power of California trial courts to compel the attendance of only California residents at deposition and trial. The trial court granted the motion to compel, but the Court of Appeal granted Toyota's writ petition. The appellate court unanimously concluded that "[t]he plain language of the statutory scheme and the legislative history of that language fully support the conclusion that a trial court cannot order a non-resident to appear at a California deposition. This conclusion is not limited to individual witnesses, but also applies to a court order directing that a party produce for deposition a non-resident witness (e.g., a employee, office, or director of a corporation)." The concurring justice noted, however, that it may be time for the Legislature to revisit the statutory scheme.
The IADC answered the Court of Appeal's invitation for amicus briefing, and filed an amicus brief in support of Toyota, together with the National Association of Manufacturers. The brief, prepared by Amicus Curiae Chair M.C. Sungaila, argued that (1) in the absence of a statutory scheme, the California courts had no inherent equitable authority to compel attendance here and (2) international comity concerns should play a role in the statutory analysis.
Amicus Brief
Case Summary
Case Opinion
An IADC Amicus Brief is a valuable service we provide to our members. If you believe IADC amicus support may be useful in one of your cases, please complete the application on the IADC Web site and the Amicus Curiae Committee will review your request.