Johnson v. Superior Court

Introduction

Petitioners Diane L. Johnson and Ronald G. Johnson, along with their minor daughter Brittany L. Johnson, filed an action against real parties in interest, California Cryobank, Inc., Cappy M. Rothman, M.D., and Charles A. Sims, M.D., claiming that real parties failed to disclose that the sperm they sold came from a donor with a family history of kidney disease called Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD). That sperm was used to conceive Brittany who has been diagnosed with this serious kidney disease. When petitioners sought to take the deposition and obtain documents of John Doe, the person believed to be the anonymous sperm donor, real parties (including John Doe) filed motions to quash the deposition subpoena. At the same time, petitioners filed a motion to compel compliance with the deposition subpoena. The trial court denied petitioners’ motion and granted the motions to quash the deposition subpoena. By their petition, petitioners seek a writ of mandate directing the superior court to vacate its order and issue a different order compelling John Doe’s deposition and the production of records.

The novel issue presented here is whether…