Glass

*1050 Opinion

May a foreign corporation sue in this state and then insist members of its management may not be required to attend depositions in California? No.

I

Petitioner Doyle Glass is the former president and chief executive officer of real party in interest, Indiana Western, a mortgage banking company headquartered in Orange County, California. Indiana Western and its parent corporations (real parties Ameriana Savings Bank and HCSS, both Indiana corporations), sued Glass and his wife (petitioner Beverly Glass) for damages, alleging petitioners tortiously diverted real parties’ business to their own competing company, Mortgage Corporation of the West. Petitioners have cross-complained for defamation, breach of contract, bad faith and other damages.

Petitioners desired to depose three senior members of Ameriana’s management team in California pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2025, subdivision (e)(3). 1 They moved for an order but real parties opposed the motion on the ground the deponents were Indiana residents and principals of Indiana corporations and could only be deposed within 75 miles of their residences. Relying on section 2026, the trial court denied the…