Bad Bill Becomes Law: Time Limits on Mesothelioma Plaintiff Depositions Enacted in California

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Senate Bill 645 into law. This law imposes stringent time limits on asbestos defendants’ deposition examination of a mesothelioma or silicosis plaintiff. (See prior post here.)

SB 645’s passage comes after a summer of highly emotional testimony in the legislature by the proponents of the bill. It was ordered to a third and final reading before the California Assembly in July, after passing quickly through the California Senate in June.

The new law places a 7-hour limitation on defendants’ deposition examination of a mesothelioma plaintiff if a licensed physician provides a declaration attesting both that the plaintiff has mesothelioma, and that there is substantial medical doubt of survival beyond 6 months. Defendants may move the court for an additional 3 hours if more than 10 defendants appear at the deposition, and an additional 7 hours if more than 20 defendants appear at the deposition. However, the court may only grant even these minimal extensions of time upon a finding that the extension is in the interest of fairness, and that the health of the plaintiff is not endangered by the grant of additional time.

SB 645 is even worse than California’s prior law, which allowed for 7 hours of deposition testimony, plus an extension of up to 20 hours of total testimony in the trial court’s discretion. The law also seems to override case management orders in counties with heavy asbestos calendars, such as Alameda and Los Angeles counties, where the case management orders regularly provided up to 20 hours for defendants’ deposition testimony in asbestos cases.

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Time Limits on Plaintiff Depositions on Their Way to Becoming Law in California

A bill to unduly limit deposition time is working its way through the California legislature, and likely to pass soon in some form. Senate Bill 645 would limit the deposition of mesothelioma or silicosis plaintiffs to 7 hours. The 7-hour time limit does not include plaintiff’s direct examination or re-direct examination by their counsel. To trigger the 7-hour time limit, the plaintiff must have a doctor declaration showing that the plaintiff has mesothelioma or silicosis and has six months or less to live.

SB 645 has already passed the California Senate and is an active bill in the Assembly. It was amended in the Assembly on July 5, 2019. Amendments to the time limits of SB 645 have been made as follows: A party can seek an order to extend the deposition time limit to 10 hours if there are more than 10 defendants appearing at the deposition. If there are more than 20 defendants appearing at the deposition, a party can seek an order extending the deposition time to 14 hours. This extension of time depends on the number of defendants present at the plaintiff’s deposition, not the number of defendants named in the caption.

SB 645 allows more time for plaintiffs whose health will not be endangered by the grant of additional time. The defense bar has expressed concern that, to avoid the extension of deposition time, plaintiffs will provide doctor declarations saying the plaintiff’s health is at risk, and judge will not extend the time of the deposition.

Given the current climate in Sacramento, SB 645 will likely pass after it is read, with its amendments, for the final time in the Assembly (date not yet set). After SB 645 passes the Assembly, it will go back to the Senate for approval of the amendments before being approved by the Governor. It is likely that SB 645 will become effective by January 2020.

The defense bar has considered potential Constitutional due process arguments against SB 645. It is likely that, at the deposition of a mesothelioma or silicosis plaintiff, some defendant will have no time to ask questions about alternative exposure or claims against their client because the clock ran out. It will take the “perfect test case” to challenge SB 645. Defendants at depositions will need to collaborate and get organized before depos commence, and work together to create a record of due process issues. Defendants will have to push the plaintiff to provide meaningful responses to interrogatories, and point out the lack of information given to each defendant before the deposition.