Florida’s new Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act

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For those of you who may have to take depositions or get documents via subpoena from out of state, Florida just passed the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act (“UIDDA”), effective July 1, 2019. The new law applies to “requests for discovery in all proceedings pending or commenced on or after July 1, 2019.”

This means that, if the state in which you are trying to depose a witness or get records has also passed the UIDDA, then you can get the subpoena issued by the clerk of the court in that state without having to get a commission issued in Florida first.

See below for text of new statute:

West’s F.S.A. § 92.251

92.251. Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act

Effective: July 1, 2019

(1) Short title.–This section may be cited as the “Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act.”

(2) Definitions.–As used in this section, the term:

(a) “Foreign jurisdiction” means a state other than this state.

(b) “Foreign subpoena” means a subpoena issued under authority of a court of record of a foreign jurisdiction.

(c) “Person” means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association,

joint venture, public corporation, government, or governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality, or any other legal or

commercial entity.

(d) “State” means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, a federally

recognized Indian tribe, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

(e) “Subpoena” means a document, however denominated, issued under authority of a court of record requiring a person to:

1. Attend and give testimony at a deposition;

2. Produce and permit inspection and copying of designated books, documents, records, electronically stored information, or

tangible things in the possession, custody, or control of the person; or

3. Permit inspection of premises under the control of the person.

(3) Issuance of subpoena.–

(a) To request issuance of a subpoena under this section, a party from a foreign jurisdiction must submit a foreign subpoena to a clerk of court in the county in this state in which discovery is sought. A request for the issuance of a subpoena under this act

does not constitute an appearance in the courts of this state.

(b) When a party submits a foreign subpoena to a clerk of court in this state, the clerk, in accordance with that court’s procedure, shall promptly issue a subpoena for service upon the person to which the foreign subpoena is directed.

1. Incorporate the terms used in the foreign subpoena; and

2. Contain or be accompanied by the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all counsel of record in the proceeding to

which the subpoena relates and of any party not represented by counsel.

(4) Service of subpoena.–A subpoena issued by a clerk of court under subsection (3) must be served in compliance with the laws of this state and the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure.

(5) Deposition, production, and inspection.–The laws and rules of this state govern and apply to all subpoenas issued under subsection (3).

(6) Application to court.–An application to the court for a protective order or to enforce, quash, or modify a subpoena issued by a clerk of court under subsection (3) must comply with the statutes and rules of this state and be submitted to the court in the county in which discovery is to be conducted.

(7) Uniformity of application and construction.–In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.

(8) Inapplicability to criminal proceedings.–This act does not apply to criminal proceedings.

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