Appellate Court: Trial Courts Have Authority to Allow Extra Deposition Time in Asbestos Cases

LOS ANGELES –– A trial court is not only authorized to allow defense counsel additional time to depose an asbestos plaintiff, but is required to do so in certain circumstances, a California appellate court recently opined.

In a Dec. 27 order, the California 2nd District Court of Appeal said that it was considering the issuance of a peremptory writ of mandate directing the trial court to vacate its order denying defense requests for additional deposition time. In its order, the trial court had expressed concern over ambiguity in statutes governing time limits on depositions.

On Dec. 10, the trial court …