Home › Case briefs › Civil Procedure

Carson v. Burlington Northern, Inc.

United States District Court · Civil Procedure

Civil ProcedureDepositionsRule 30Videotaped depositionsRule 30(b)(4)depositionsvideotapephotographic recording

Facts

The plaintiff was injured in the defendant’s blacksmith shop at its diesel yards in Lincoln, Nebraska, suffering a partial amputation of his right hand when a steel press came down on it. He alleged the accident occurred because of the defendant’s negligence. The defendant sought to take a deposition in the accident location by stenographic and video means to show how the plaintiff approached and operated the machine immediately before and at the time of the accident. The plaintiff objected that any photographic re-creation would appear staged and unfairly aid the defendant on contributory negligence.

Issue

May the court, under Rule 30(b)(4), permit a deposition to be taken by photographic means in addition to stenographic means to demonstrate the plaintiff’s manner of operating the machine, despite the plaintiff’s objection that the demonstration will appear staged? If so, what safeguards are required to make the procedure acceptable?

Rule

Rule 30(b)(4) permits a court, on motion, to order that deposition testimony be recorded by means other than stenographic means, including photographic means, so long as the court designates the manner of recording, preserving, and filing the deposition and imposes safeguards necessary to assure that the recording is accurate and trustworthy.

🔒

See the holding & full analysis

Create a free KwikCourt account to unlock the rest of this brief — and practice the case.

The court's holding and reasoning
Doctrine tests, pitfalls & exam hypotheticals
10 practice questions + 4 AI-graded essays on this case

Free sample · practice this case

Test yourself

One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

In a products-liability suit in Cleveland, Nora Patel alleges that a commercial dough mixer injured her arm at a bakery owned by Lakeview Milling Services. The defendant moves to take a second deposition at the bakery, recorded by both stenographic and video means, so Nora can indicate how she positioned herself before the accident; the motion does not propose any procedure for preserving, certifying, or filing the recording.

How should the court most likely rule?

Explanation. The majority opinion treated Rule 30(b)(4) as permitting photographic recording only upon motion and only when the court designates the manner of recording, preserving, and filing the deposition and imposes safeguards necessary to assure accuracy and trustworthiness. A bare request for video recording without those protections should not be granted on those terms. (Derived from Carson v. Burlington Northern, Inc. (n.d.).)