Episode 48 - For Your Research Files: New Decision on Deposing Witnesses Even When the Adversary Swears They Know Nothing

In this episode, Jim Garrity discusses a brand-new deposition-related decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, whose jurisdiction spans Florida, Georgia and Alabama. The appeals court held that a party should be able to depose witnesses if there is a reasonable basis to do so, even where the adversary claims the witnesses know nothing, and even if the witnesses themselves file affidavits swearing they know nothing. Witnesses who may have knowledge, the Court held, should be subject to cross-examination, and should not escape scrutiny through the use of an affidavit alone. Garrity ends the episode, as always, with practice tips and observations.

The case is Akridge v. Alfa Mutual Insurance Company, 2021 WL 2520631, Case No.19-10827 (11th Cir. June 21, 2021).