Tennessee Enacts Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act - Makes it Easier for Out of State Litigants to Subpoena in the Volunteer State

The Tennessee legislature enacted the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, Tenn. Code Ann. §§24-9-201 et. seq. The act, which will take effect July 1, 2008, provides a mechanism for the issuance, service, enforcement and quashing of subpoenas originating from out of state courts. The act applies to the situation where a litigant, in a case pending in another state, wants to conduct discovery in Tennessee. The act requires Tennessee court clerks to issue a subpoena, if presented with a subpoena issued under the authority of a court of record from a state other than Tennessee. "State" includes any territory or possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. The act applies to subpoenas for testimony or for the production of documents or things.

Service of the subpoena and any deposition under the act must be in accordance with the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure. The act also addresses applications to enforce, quash or modify the subpoena. The full text of the Act can be viewed by clicking  here.

The new law deletes former Tenn. Code Ann. §24-9-103 (Uniform Foreign Depositions Act) in its entirety and does away with the former cumbersome requirement of the issuance of a mandate, writ or commission, from the foreign court, and the filing of a petition in the Tennessee court requesting the issuance of a subpoena of a local witness.  

Dan Berexa
Nashville, Tennessee