Calif. Court Refuses to Order Defendants to Pay Costs Related to Depositions in Asbestos Cases

SAN FRANCISCO –– A California state court has refused to issue an order compelling defendants to pay costs related to the depositions of plaintiffs in several asbestos cases, concluding that the plaintiffs had failed to persuade the court that good cause exists for it to compel the defendant to pay the court reporter fees and costs sought by the plaintiff.

In the Dec. 20 order, the California Superior Court for San Francisco County denied the plaintiffs’ argument that “trial preservation deposition” was separate from the discovery portion of the same deposition of the same individual, a position the defendants …