Florida Senate - 2019 (PROPOSED BILL) SPB 7006
FOR CONSIDERATION By the Committee on Judiciary
590-00935A-19 20197006pb
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Uniform Interstate Depositions
3 and Discovery Act; amending s. 92.251, F.S.; revising
4 a short title; defining terms; requiring a party to
5 submit a foreign subpoena to a clerk of court in this
6 state for the issuance of a subpoena in this state;
7 requiring the clerk of court to promptly issue a
8 subpoena for service upon the person to whom the
9 foreign subpoena is directed; providing requirements
10 for the subpoena; requiring that the service of the
11 subpoena be served in compliance with the laws of this
12 state and the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure;
13 specifying that laws and rules governing compliance
14 with subpoenas apply to subpoenas issued pursuant to
15 the act; requiring that applications challenging a
16 subpoena issued pursuant to the act comply with the
17 statutes and rules of this state and be submitted to a
18 specified court; providing for the uniform
19 construction and application of the act; specifying
20 that the act does not apply to criminal proceedings;
21 providing applicability; providing an effective date.
22
23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24
25 Section 1. Section 92.251, Florida Statutes, is amended to
26 read:
27 92.251 Uniform Foreign Depositions Law.—
28 (1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the “Uniform
29 Interstate Foreign Depositions and Discovery Act Law.”
30 (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
31 (a) “Foreign jurisdiction” means a state other than this
32 state.
33 (b) “Foreign subpoena” means a subpoena issued under
34 authority of a court of record of a foreign jurisdiction.
35 (c) “Person” means an individual, corporation, business
36 trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company,
37 association, joint venture, public corporation, government, or
38 governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality, or any
39 other legal or commercial entity.
40 (d) “State” means a state of the United States, the
41 District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin
42 Islands, a federally recognized Indian tribe, or any territory
43 or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United
44 States.
45 (e) “Subpoena” means a document, however denominated,
46 issued under authority of a court of record requiring a person
47 to:
48 1. Attend and give testimony at a deposition;
49 2. Produce and permit inspection and copying of designated
50 books, documents, records, electronically stored information, or
51 tangible things in the possession, custody, or control of the
52 person; or
53 3. Permit inspection of premises under the control of the
54 person.
55 (3) ISSUANCE OF SUBPOENA.—
56 (a) To request issuance of a subpoena under this section, a
57 party from a foreign jurisdiction must submit a foreign subpoena
58 to a clerk of court in the county in this state in which
59 discovery is sought. A request for the issuance of a subpoena
60 under this act does not constitute an appearance in the courts
61 of this state.
62 (b) When a party submits a foreign subpoena to a clerk of
63 court in this state, the clerk, in accordance with that court’s
64 procedure, shall promptly issue a subpoena for service upon the
65 person to which the foreign subpoena is directed.
66 (c) A subpoena pursuant to paragraph (b) shall:
67 1. Incorporate the terms used in the foreign subpoena; and
68 2. Contain or be accompanied by the names, addresses, and
69 telephone numbers of all counsel of record in the proceeding to
70 which the subpoena relates and of any party not represented by
71 counsel.
72 (4) SERVICE OF SUBPOENA.—A subpoena issued by a clerk of
73 court under subsection (3) must be served in compliance with the
74 laws of this state and the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure.
75 (5) DEPOSITION, PRODUCTION, AND INSPECTION.—The laws and
76 rules of this state govern and apply to all subpoenas issued
77 under subsection (3).
78 (6) APPLICATION TO COURT.—An application to the court for a
79 protective order or to enforce, quash, or modify a subpoena
80 issued by a clerk of court under subsection (3) must comply with
81 the statutes and rules of this state and be submitted to the
82 court in the county in which discovery is to be conducted.
83 (7) UNIFORMITY OF APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION.—In applying
84 and construing this uniform act, consideration must be given to
85 the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its
86 subject matter among states that enact it.
87 (8) INAPPLICABILITY TO CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS.—This act does
88 not apply to criminal proceedings.
89 (2) Whenever any mandate, writ or commission is issued out
90 of any court of record in any other state, territory, district,
91 or foreign jurisdiction, or whenever upon notice or agreement it
92 is required to take the testimony of a witness or witnesses in
93 this state, witnesses may be compelled to appear and testify in
94 the same manner and by the same process and proceeding as may be
95 employed for the purpose of taking testimony in proceedings
96 pending in this state.
97 (3) This section shall be so interpreted and construed as
98 to effectuate its general purposes to make uniform the law of
99 those states which enact it.
100 Section 2. This act applies to requests for discovery in
101 all proceedings pending or commenced on or after July 1, 2019.
102 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.