Urban Pacific Equities Corp. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County

To avoid a court reporter’s $6,500 fee for a photocopy of a deposition transcript that any lawyer could produce in-house for about $150, a party served the reporter with a business records subpoena for the transcript. The reporter and the party who had noticed the deposition moved to quash the subpoena, their motions were granted, and a petition for a writ of mandate was filed with us. We were intrigued and issued an order to show cause but conclude, albeit reluctantly, that a business records subpoena cannot be used in this manner.

Facts

Urban Pacific Equities Corporation and Theodore P. Ihnen sued Steiner & Libo for legal malpractice. In the course of discovery, Steiner & Libo noticed Ihnen’s deposition and requested that he produce at his deposition 109 categories of documents. Over a six-week period, Ihnen was deposed at fifteen sessions, all before a court reporter (Miller & Company Reporters) hired by Steiner & Libo. When asked at the conclusion of the deposition to stipulate that the original transcript could be delivered to Ihnen’s attorney and the court reporter relieved of her duties, Steiner & Libo’s attorney refused. The court reporter offered to make a copy…