Federal Notice of Deposition - Rule 30(b)(6)

FEDERAL NOTICE OF DEPOSITION PURSUANT TO RULE 30(b)(6)

Corporate / Organizational Designee Deposition

Instructions for Use

Legal Basis: Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(b)(6) permits a party to name a corporation, partnership, association, governmental agency, or other legal entity (including a non-party served with a subpoena) and require it to designate one or more officers, directors, managing agents, or other consenting persons to testify on its behalf about topics described with reasonable particularity in the notice.

December 1, 2020 Amendment — Mandatory Meet and Confer: The 2020 amendment to Rule 30(b)(6) added an express obligation requiring the serving party and the organization to confer in good faith about the matters for examination before or promptly after the notice is served. This requirement:

• Applies to both party organizations (served with a notice) and non-party organizations (served with a subpoena).
• Does not require agreement — only good faith effort.
• Is intended to reduce overly broad or ambiguous topic lists and inadequately prepared witnesses.
• Should be documented in correspondence for potential use in court if disputes arise.

Topic Specificity (Reasonable Particularity): The notice must describe the examination topics with reasonable particularity. Courts have rejected topic lists that are: (a) excessively vague or overbroad; (b) simply tracking the pleadings verbatim; or (c) so numerous that the organization cannot reasonably prepare a designee. Aim for clear, focused topic descriptions.

Organizational Obligations:

• The organization must designate one or more persons to testify on each topic.
• Designees must be prepared to testify about information known or reasonably available to the organization — not merely their personal knowledge.
• If the organization needs to designate multiple witnesses for different topics, it should so state before the deposition.
• Failure to adequately prepare a designee may result in sanctions or the organization being bound by the inadequate testimony.

7-Hour Limit Per Designee: Rule 30(d)(1) limits depositions to one day of 7 hours per deposition. The 2000 Advisory Committee Notes to Rule 30(d)(1) state that "the deposition of each person designated under Rule 30(b)(6) should be considered a separate deposition," suggesting each designee gets their own 7-hour period. However, significant district court disagreement exists — many courts (including districts in Minnesota, and others) apply a single 7-hour cap to the entire 30(b)(6) deposition regardless of how many designees are named. Practitioners should seek a court order or stipulation expressly permitting extended time when multiple designees are anticipated.

Non-Party Organizations: To compel a non-party organization, serve a Rule 45 subpoena (using AO 88A form) commanding the organization to designate a Rule 30(b)(6) witness. Include the list of topics in the subpoena or an attachment.

Strategic Considerations:

• The organization's designee(s) testimony is generally treated as the organization's official position and may be used as a party admission. However, this effect is not absolute — where a designee disclaimed knowledge of specific matters or expressed uncertainty, courts have permitted the organization to offer additional or corrective testimony. Designee admissions are strongest where the designee affirmatively testified on a topic within their designated scope.
• If a designee testifies contrary to prior document production, the discrepancy can be used to impeach or to establish facts.
• Identify the correct organization entity — subsidiaries and affiliates may require separate notices/subpoenas.

Court Caption

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE [________________________________] DISTRICT OF [________________________________]
[________________________________] DIVISION

[________________________________],
Plaintiff,

v. Case No. [____________________]

[________________________________],
Defendant.

NOTICE OF DEPOSITION OF [ORGANIZATION NAME]

PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 30(b)(6)

TO: [Organization Name] and Its Counsel of Record, [Attorney Name], [Law Firm]:
TO: All Parties and Their Counsel of Record

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(b)(6), [Noticing Party] [________________________________] will take the deposition of:

Organization: [________________________________]
Type of Entity: ☐ Corporation ☐ LLC ☐ Partnership ☐ Government Agency ☐ Other: [____]
Party / Non-Party: ☐ Party ☐ Non-Party (If non-party, this notice must be accompanied by a Rule 45 subpoena.)

Date: [__/__/____]
Time: [____] a.m./p.m. [Time Zone: ____]
Location: [________________________________]
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

Pursuant to Rule 30(b)(6), [Organization Name] must designate one or more officers, directors, managing agents, or other persons who consent to testify on its behalf, and must identify the topics on which each designated person will testify. Designees must be prepared to testify about information known or reasonably available to the organization, not merely their personal knowledge.

The deposition will continue from day to day and across multiple designated witnesses as necessary, subject to the one-day, 7-hour limitation of Rule 30(d)(1) per witness and any court order.

Method of Recording

The deposition will be recorded by the following method(s):

☐ Stenographic — Before a certified court reporter
☐ Audiovisual (Video) — By certified videographer (in addition to stenographic)
☐ Audio recording only
☐ Remote video platform: [________________________________]

Remote Deposition (if applicable)

☐ This deposition will be conducted remotely pursuant to Rule 30(b)(4) and [the parties' stipulation / court order dated [__/__/____]].

Platform: [________________________________]
Access Instructions: [________________________________]
Technical Contact: [________________________________]

Good Faith Meet and Confer

Pursuant to the December 1, 2020 amendment to Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(b)(6), [Noticing Party] is prepared to confer in good faith with [Organization Name] about the matters for examination listed below. Please contact [Attorney Name] at [________________________________] within [____] days of receipt of this Notice to schedule the required meet and confer.

The meet and confer should address, at minimum:

• Whether any topics can be clarified, narrowed, or made more specific;
• The number of designees the organization intends to designate and the topics each will cover;
• Whether any topics present privilege, confidentiality, or proportionality concerns;
• Any documents the designee(s) should review in preparation; and
• Logistical matters including scheduling and any need to split the deposition across multiple days.

Topics for Examination

Pursuant to Rule 30(b)(6), [Organization Name] must designate one or more persons prepared to testify on its behalf as to all information known or reasonably available to the organization regarding the following topics, described with reasonable particularity:

Topic 1: Corporate Structure and Organization

[Organization Name]'s corporate structure, organizational chart, ownership, subsidiaries, affiliates, and any changes thereto from [__/__/____] through the present, including identification of all officers, directors, and managing agents involved in the subject matter of this litigation.

Topic 2: [Describe Core Substantive Topic]

[Organization Name]'s [policies / procedures / practices / decisions] concerning [________________________________] during the period from [__/__/____] through [__/__/____], including the identity of all persons involved in [________________________________].

Topic 3: The Agreement / Transaction at Issue

[Organization Name]'s knowledge of, participation in, and all facts relating to [the Agreement dated [__/__/____] / the transaction described in the Complaint], including negotiations, drafting, execution, performance, and any alleged breach or modification.

Topic 4: Communications with Plaintiff / Defendant / Third Parties

All Communications between [Organization Name] and [Plaintiff / Defendant / [Third Party]] from [__/__/____] through the present concerning [the subject matter of this litigation / the Agreement / the Incident].

Topic 5: Documents and Records

The identity, contents, location, custodians, and retention policies for all Documents and ESI maintained by [Organization Name] that are or were responsive to [Propounding Party]'s discovery requests in this action, including any documents that have been destroyed, deleted, or otherwise made unavailable.

Topic 6: Finances and Damages

[Organization Name]'s financial records, accounting practices, revenues, expenses, and any calculations of claimed damages or losses relating to the claims or defenses in this action.

Topic 7: [Add Tailored Topic]

[________________________________]

(Describe with particularity the matters about which testimony is sought. Avoid vague topic descriptions such as "all facts relating to the complaint" or "all documents produced in discovery.")

Topic 8: [Add Tailored Topic]

[________________________________]

Topic 9: [Add Tailored Topic]

[________________________________]

Topic 10: [Add Tailored Topic]

[________________________________]

Documents to Bring

In connection with the deposition, [Organization Name] is requested to bring (or produce no later than [____] days before the deposition) the following documents:

1. All Documents reviewed or relied upon by the designee(s) in preparing to testify on the Topics listed above.
2. All organizational charts, contact lists, or corporate governance documents relevant to Topic 1 above.
3. [________________________________]
4. [________________________________]
5. [________________________________]

(For a party organization, document production may be compelled by a concurrent Rule 34 request. For a non-party, document production must be compelled by a Rule 45 subpoena.)

Notice Regarding Designation

No later than [____] days before the deposition date ([__/__/____]), [Organization Name] must:

1. Identify in writing the name(s), title(s), and contact information for each designated person;
2. Specify the Topic(s) on which each designee will testify; and
3. Confirm whether any designee will testify on all Topics or only a subset.

Failure to adequately designate and prepare a witness may result in the organization being bound by incomplete or inadequate testimony and may subject the organization to sanctions.

Signature Block

Respectfully submitted,

[________________________________]
[Attorney Name]
[Bar Number: ____]
[Law Firm: ________________________________]
[Address: ________________________________]
[City, State, ZIP: ________________________________]
[Phone: ________________________________]
[Fax: ________________________________]
[Email: ________________________________]

Counsel for [________________________________]
Date: [__/__/____]

Certificate of Service

I hereby certify that on [__/__/____], I served a true and correct copy of the foregoing Notice of Deposition under Rule 30(b)(6) upon all counsel of record by the method indicated:

☐ Electronic filing via CM/ECF
☐ Electronic mail to:

• [Attorney Name], [Law Firm], Counsel for [________________________________]
• [Attorney Name], [Law Firm], Counsel for [________________________________]
  ☐ U.S. Mail, first-class postage prepaid
  ☐ Hand delivery / personal service on [Organization Name] at: [________________________________]

Note: If [Organization Name] is a non-party, this Notice was served in conjunction with a Rule 45 subpoena personally served on [Organization Name] on [__/__/____] at [________________________________].

[________________________________]
[Attorney Name]
Counsel for [________________________________]

Sources and References

• Fed. R. Civ. P. 30 – LII/Legal Information Institute
• Haug Partners: Meet and Confer Requirements for Rule 30(b)(6)
• Young Moore Law: 2020 Amendment to FRCP 30(b)(6)
• K&L Gates: Proposed Amendments to FRCP 30(b)(6)
• Trial Guides: FRCP 30(b)(6) Ultimate Guide