Governor Jerry Brown Signs Bill Limiting Depositions to Seven Hours

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According to this press release from CAOC, Governor Jerry Brown has signed AB 1875 – A bill designed to limit depositions in most cases to seven hours.

This bill was backed by consumer’s rights groups such as CAOC and opposed by the defense industry and the Chamber of Commerce.

The bill was designed to end abuses, usually on the part of unscrupulous defense counsel, who use extremely long depositions to physically and mentally wear down injured or fragile witnesses.

The law should take effect January 01, 2013.  The law will not affect all cases – expert witness deposition, “person most knowledgeable” depositions, and complex cases remain unaffected.

Having sat through many depositions which have lasted longer than seven hours, I applaud the governor and CAOC for passing this bill.

More information on AB 1875 can be found here.