What is the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act?

Obtaining discovery from witnesses located outside of the “100-mile limit” in a federal action or beyond state borders in a state court litigation present unique challenges.

The Uniform Interstate Deposition and Discovery Act (UIDDA) greatly simplifies the process for pursuing discovery from a party located outside of the state in which the lawsuit has been filed and brings such practices in line with the discovery permitted under Rule 45 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Prior to its adoption, and in those states which have not enacted the UIDDA, attorneys must first obtain permission from the court where the litigation is pending and then the state court where the witness or discovery materials are located. This process was particularly complex because each state had different requirements to pursue discovery from an out of state source.

The UIDDA streamlines this process and renders it less costly where both the trial state and discovery state have both adopted it.

47 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have all adopted the UIDDA.

Florida’s version of the UIDDA replaced its Uniform Foreign Depositions Law and went into effect on July 1, 2019. See Fla. Stat. 92.251. Florida’s Act authorizes the clerk of the county in which the witness or documents are located to domesticate a subpoena issued by the out of state trial court by preparing a subpoena in compliance with Florida law for purposes of service on the witness or record keeper in Florida.

The clerk of the discovery state only serves a ministerial role. A court in the discovery state need not approve the subpoena before its issuance by the clerk.

Motions to quash, enforce, or modify the domesticated out of state subpoena must be brought in and are subject to the rules of the discovery state.

Accordingly, it is advisable that objections to the subpoena be resolved consensually to avoid the need for the retention of local counsel in the discovery state to seek relief with respect to the subpoena.

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