is amended only to add subsection titles. This change is made for convenience and

consistency with the style of other rules, and is not intended to affect the rule's interpretation. Rule 30.02(g) is amended to renumber one of the rule cross-references to reflect the amendment and renumbering of Rule 45 as part of the amendments effective January 1, 2006. Advisory Committee Comment - 2025 Amendment Rule 30.02(a) is amended to allow a party seeking to conduct a deposition to elect the method by which the deposition shall be conducted, and to allow parties to conduct depositions via remote technology. As a discretionary choice, no showing of good cause, or requirement of an agreement, or any other prerequisite is necessary prior to the noticing party's election to conduct a deposition in person or by remote technology. The new rule provides that the noticing party's election shall be the presumptive method for conducting the noticed deposition, but that a party or the deponent may rebut that presumption through a showing of good cause. Rule 30.02(b) is amended to expressly permit the recording of remote-technology depositions via the recording technology provided by the videoconference platform, as an additional recording method. Such a recording should be viewed no differently than a recording taken by a videographer in person. The rule also makes clear that the party taking the deposition may itself enable the recording, and that there is no requirement that a certified videographer press the record button or otherwise enable the recording feature of the remote technology being utilized for the deposition. Additionally, Rule 30.02(b) places the responsibility of maintaining a copy of any videoconference recording on the party taking the deposition. This amendment modernizes the procedure referenced in the Advisory Committee Comment to the 1993 Amendment, in which the lawyer for the party taking the deposition was to retain custody of a physical videotape. Published by the Revisor of Statutes under Minnesota Statutes, section 3C.08, subdivision 1. CIVIL PROCEDURE 78 MINNESOTA COURT RULES Rule 30.02(b) is also amended to delete the statement that the taking of video depositions is governed by all other rules governing the taking of depositions unless the nature of the video deposition makes compliance impossible or unnecessary. A similar but broader statement, which includes depositions taken by any remote technology, has been added to Rule 30.02(g). Rule 30.02(g) is further amended to delete the requirement that the court approve a remote deposition by motion, since that may be done now on notice. 30.03 Examination and Cross-Examination; Record of Examination; Oath; Objections Examination and cross-examination of witnesses may proceed as permitted at the trial under the provisions of the Minnesota Rules of Evidence except Rules 103 and 615. The officer before whom the deposition is to be taken shall put the witness on oath or affirmation and shall personally, or by someone acting under the officer's direction and in the officer's presence, record the testimony of the witness. The testimony shall be taken stenographically or recorded by any other means ordered in accordance with Rule 30.02(d). If requested by one of the parties, the testimony shall be transcribed. All objections made at the time of the examination to the qualifications of the officer taking the deposition, to the manner of taking it, to the evidence presented, to the conduct of any party, or to any other aspect of the proceedings shall be noted by the officer upon the deposition; but the examination shall proceed, with the testimony being taken subject to the objections. In lieu of participating in the oral examination, a party may serve written questions in a sealed envelope on the party taking the deposition and the party taking the deposition shall transmit them to the officer, who shall propound them to the witness and record the answers verbatim. (Amended effective January 1, 1997.) 30.04 Schedule and Duration; Motion to Terminate or Limit Examination (a) Objections. Any objection to evidence during a deposition shall be stated concisely and in a non-argumentative and non-suggestive manner. A person may instruct a deponent not to answer only when necessary to preserve a privilege, to enforce a limitation on evidence directed by the court, or to present a motion under paragraph (d). (b) Duration. Unless otherwise authorized by the court or stipulated by the parties, a deposition is limited to one day of seven hours. The court must allow additional time consistent with Rule 26.02(b) if needed for a fair examination of the deponent or if the deponent or another person, or other circumstance, impedes or delays the examination. (c) Sanctions. If the court finds such an impediment, delay, or other conduct that has frustrated the fair examination of the deponent, it may impose upon the persons responsible an appropriate sanction, including the reasonable costs and attorney's fees incurred by any parties as a result thereof. (d) Suspension of Examination. At any time during a deposition, on motion of a party or of the deponent and upon a showing that the examination is being conducted in bad faith or in such manner as unreasonably to annoy, embarrass, or oppress the deponent or party, the court in which the action is pending or the court in the district where the deposition is being taken may order the officer conducting the examination to cease forthwith from taking the deposition, or may limit the scope and manner of the taking of the deposition as provided in Rule 26.03. If the order made terminates the examination, it shall be resumed thereafter only upon the order of the court in which the action is pending. Upon demand of the objecting party or deponent, the taking of the deposition Published by the Revisor of Statutes under Minnesota Statutes, section 3C.08, subdivision 1. 79 CIVIL PROCEDURE MINNESOTA COURT RULES shall be suspended for the time necessary to make a motion for an order. The provisions of Rule 37.01(d) apply to the award of expenses incurred in relation to the motion. (Amended effective January 1, 1997; amended effective January 1, 2006; amended effective February 29, 2008; amended effective June 9, 2023.) Advisory Committee Comment - 2006 Amendment Rule 30.04(a) is amended to remove an ambiguity in the current rule. As amended, the rule expressly extends the prohibition against improper instruction of a deponent not to answer to all persons (including counsel for a non-party witness), instead of just "parties." Rule 30.04(b) is amended to adopt a specific time limit on depositions. Although parties may agree to a longer deposition and the court can determine that longer examination is appropriate, a deposition is made subject to a limit of one day lasting seven hours. This amendment is identical to the change in Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(d)(2) made in 2000. The purpose of this amendment is to decrease the burden of discovery on witnesses and to encourage focused examination of all deponents. Where the examining party engages in proper and focused examination and encounters unhelpful responses or inappropriate objections, or where the issues in the case dictate that additional time is necessary to permit a fair examination, the court is required to provide it. The rule establishes a presumptive limit on the length of depositions, not the presumptive length. Most depositions will continue to be much shorter than seven hours, and the rule does not limit courts from establishing shorter time limits in particular cases. Advisory Committee Comment - 2023 Amendment Rule 30.04(b) is amended to correct a cross reference to Rule 26.02. 30.05 Review by Witness; Changes; Signing If requested by the deponent or a party before completion of the deposition, the deponent shall have 30 days after being notified by the officer that the transcript or recording is available in which to review the transcript or recording and, if there are changes in form or substance, to sign a statement reciting such changes and the reasons given by the deponent for making them. The officer shall indicate in the certificate prescribed by Rule 30.06(a) whether any review was requested and, if so, shall append any changes made by the deponent during the period allowed. (Amended effective January 1, 1997; amended effective July 1, 2018.) 30.06 Certification and Filing by Officer; Exhibits; Copies; Notices of Filing (a) Certification by Officer; Exhibits. The officer shall certify that the witness was duly sworn by the officer and that the deposition is a true record of the testimony given by the witness, and shall certify that the deposition has been transcribed, that the cost of the original has been charged to the party who noticed the deposition, and that all parties who ordered copies have been charged at the same rate for such copies. This certificate shall be in writing and accompany the record of the deposition. Unless otherwise ordered by the court or agreed to by the parties the officer shall securely seal the deposition in an envelope or package endorsed with the title of the action and marked "Deposition of (herein insert the name of witness)," and shall promptly send it to the attorney or party who arranged for the transcript or recording, who shall store it under conditions that will protect it against loss, destruction, tampering, or deterioration. Documents and things produced for inspection during the examination of the witness shall, upon the request of a party, be marked for identification and annexed to the deposition and may be inspected and copied by any party, except that if the person producing the materials desires to retain Published by the Revisor of Statutes under Minnesota Statutes, section 3C.08, subdivision 1. CIVIL PROCEDURE 80 MINNESOTA COURT RULES them, the person may (1) offer copies to be marked for identification and annexed to the deposition and to serve thereafter as originals if the person affords to all parties fair opportunity to verify the copies by comparison with the originals, or (2) offer the originals to be marked for identification after giving each party an opportunity to inspect and copy them, in which event the materials may then be used in the same manner as if annexed to the deposition. Any party may move for an order that the original be annexed to and returned with the deposition pending final disposition of the case. (b) Duties of Officer. Unless otherwise ordered by the court or agreed by the parties, the officer shall retain stenographic notes of any deposition taken stenographically or a copy of the recording of any deposition taken by another method. Upon payment of reasonable charges therefor, the officer shall furnish a copy of the transcript or other recording of the deposition to any party or to the deponent. (c) Notice of Receipt of Transcript. The party taking the deposition shall give prompt notice of its receipt from the officer to all other parties. (Amended effective January 1, 1997; amended effective January 1, 2006.) Advisory Committee Comment - 1996 Amendment These amendments substantially conform the rule to its federal counterpart. The committee believes it is particularly desirable to have the rules governing the mechanics of taking depositions conform to the federal rules because many depositions are taken for use in parallel state and federal proceedings or in distant locations before reporters who can be expected to know the federal procedures but may not know idiosyncratic Minnesota rules.