                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

TAKING OF DEPOSITIONS; CORPORATE OFFICERS (§ 8.01-420.4:1)

A. For the purposes of this section, &#8220;officer&#8221; means the president,
chief executive officer, chief operating officer, or chief financial officer of
a publicly traded company or of a subsidiary of such company that employs 250 or
more people.

B. In any action in which an officer&#8217;s publicly traded company is a party,
if a party issues a witness subpoena for the deposition of an officer prior to
taking the deposition of a corporate representative pursuant to Supreme Court
Rule 4:5(b)(6), and the officer, or company on the officer&#8217;s behalf, files
a motion for a protective order asserting that the discovery sought is
obtainable from some other source that is more convenient, less burdensome, or
less expensive, in order to defeat such motion for a protective order, the
burden is on the party seeking the deposition to show that (i) the
officer&#8217;s deposition is reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of
admissible evidence, (ii) the officer may have personal knowledge of
discoverable information that cannot reasonably be discovered through other
means, and (iii) a deposition of a representative other than the officer or
other methods of discovery are unsatisfactory, insufficient, or inadequate.

C. A motion for a protective order filed pursuant to subsection B shall include
one or more proposed corporate employees available to be deposed instead of the
officer, along with a description of the employee&#8217;s role in the
corporation, his knowledge relevant to the subject matter of the litigation, and
the source of such knowledge, provided that the party opposing the motion has
stated with reasonable particularity the matters on which the officer&#8217;s
examination is requested.

D. If a protective order is issued and the party seeking the deposition
subsequently learns that the requirements set forth in subsection B can be met,
then the party seeking the deposition may file for modification or lifting of
the protective order.

E. The provisions of this section apply to a subpoena issued pursuant to the
Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act (&#xA7; 8.01-412.8 et seq.)
consistent with the provisions of subsection E of &#xA7; 8.01-412.10.

HISTORY: 2019, cc. 9, 50.