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Beekie v. Morgan2/4/2000
CORRECTED
Petition for Certiorari Review of Order from the Circuit Court for Orange County, Richard F. Conrad, Judge.
The Petition for Writ of Certiorari is granted and we remand to allow the petitioner, Beekie, to re-notice and conduct the oral deposition of Morgan, to be videotaped at petitioner's option, with due notice required by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.310. All of the elements necessary for this court to grant certiorari have been established in this case.
To a certain extent, this is a case of first impression. To deny the writ means that Beekie (the plaintiff in a personal injury case arising out of an automobile accident) must proceed to trial against Morgan (the defendant below and driver of the car involved in the accident) without having taken Morgan's oral deposition, while Morgan has successfully exercised his right to orally depose Beekie. The trial court ruled erroneously in not ordering Morgan's oral deposition to be taken and the result is unfair and prejudicial to Beekie's ability to try his case.
One could characterize the behavior of counsel in this case as "Beavis-and-Butthead" like, or to put it in milder terms, uncivilized. We sincerely hope it is not the normal manner in which attorneys practice law "these days."
On the morning of June 1, 1999, Morgan's attorney took Beekie's oral deposition. At the end of the deposition, Morgan's attorney asked if he could see the scars on Beekie's upper thigh, which were the result of his injuries in the accident. Beekie's attorney objected, pointing out that Beekie would have to take off his pants. Morgan's attorney said they could dismiss the court reporter, inferring that all the remaining persons would be "just guys." Beekie's attorney refused, saying they would have to conduct an independent medical examination and furthermore, they had been furnished with photographs of Beekie's leg. Morgan's attorney responded: "Get the hell out of here." Beekie's attorney objected to the language used and the tone of voice.
Several hours after this controversy, Beekie's counsel was to take the oral deposition of Morgan. When Morgan and his attorney arrived, Morgan's attorney objected to having the oral deposition videotaped because he claimed it had not been properly noticed under the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. Beekie's notice had stated that the deposition may be videotaped "before Landmark Reporting or such other court reporter, videographer, or such other videographer...duly authorized by law to take depositions." The address for Landmark was stated as 1516 Hillcrest Street, Suite 300, Orlando, Florida, the place the deposition was to be taken.
Although the attorney for Morgan had obviously had the notice of the deposition days before it was to be taken, he filed no objection and sought no protective order with regard to the notice. He claimed that the video notice did not comply with the requirements of Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.310, because it did not state the deposition would be definitely videotaped, and it did not give the name and address of the specific video operator, instead of the business or corporate name. Rule 1.310(b)(4)(A) states:
Notice. A party intending to videotape a deposition shall state in the notice that the deposition is to be videotaped and shall give the name and address of the operator.
Morgan's attorney invited Beekie's attorney to go ahead with the deposition, but warned he would object to the videotape because it was improperly noticed. Not willing to lose his chance to video the deposition, Beekie's attorney elected to reschedule and re-notice the deposition. He explained later, he
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