Art. 1446. Certification by officer; custody of deposition; exhibits; copies; notice of availability for inspection or copying; cost of originals and copies of transcripts

            A.(1)(a) The officer as defined in Article 1434(B) shall certify on the deposition that the witness was duly sworn and that the deposition is a true record of the testimony given by the witness.

            (b) The officer shall do either of the following:

            (i) Securely seal the deposition in an envelope endorsed with the title of the action and marked "Deposition of (here insert name of witness)" and shall promptly and simultaneously send it by United States mail or by courier to the party at whose request the deposition was taken, who shall become the custodian of the deposition, and to all other parties to the action who have ordered a copy of the deposition transcript.

            (ii) At the request of the parties, seal the deposition electronically by secure electronic means approved by rules promulgated by the Louisiana Board of Examiners of Certified Shorthand Reporters and shall promptly and simultaneously deliver the deposition electronically to the party at whose request the deposition was taken and to all other parties to the action who have ordered a copy of the deposition transcript. The party at whose request the deposition was taken shall then become the custodian of the deposition.

            (c) The original of the deposition shall not be filed in the record, but shall be made available to all other parties in the matter for inspection or copying. The failure or lack of filing such original in the record shall not affect the use or admissibility of the original at trial or by the court if otherwise authorized or provided by law.

            (2) Documents and things produced for inspection during the examination of the witness shall, upon the request of a party, be marked for identification and annexed to and returned with the deposition, and may be inspected and copied by any party, except that the person producing the materials may substitute copies to be marked for identification, if he affords to all parties fair opportunity to verify the copies by comparison with the originals, and if the person producing the materials requests their return, the officer shall mark them, give each party an opportunity to inspect and copy them, and return them to the person producing them, and the materials may then be used in the same manner as if annexed to and returned with the deposition. Any party may move for an order that the original be annexed to and returned with the deposition to the court, pending final disposition of the case.

            B.(1) Upon payment of reasonable charges therefor, the officer as defined in Article 1434(B) shall furnish a copy of the deposition to any party or to the deponent.

            (2) Except as provided by Subparagraph (4) of this Paragraph, an attorney who takes a deposition, the attorney's firm, and the client are liable in solido for a certified shorthand reporter's charges for the reporting of the deposition, transcribing the deposition, and each copy of the deposition transcript requested by the attorney.

            (3) Except as provided by Subparagraph (4) of this Paragraph, an attorney who appears at a deposition, the attorney's firm, and the client are liable in solido for the certified shorthand reporter's charges for each copy of the deposition transcript provided by the certified shorthand reporter at the request of the attorney.

            (4) Prior to the taking of any deposition, a determination of the person who will pay for the deposition costs shall be agreed upon by the parties in writing or be made on the record, if an attorney is unwilling to be bound by the provisions of Subparagraphs (2) or (3) of this Paragraph. If this determination is made in writing instead of on the record, the certified shorthand reporter shall give a copy of the written determination to all the parties.

            (5) In this Paragraph "firm" means a partnership organized for the practice of law in which an attorney is a partner or with which an attorney is associated, or a professional corporation organized for the practice of law of which an attorney is a shareholder or employee. An attorney "takes" a deposition if the attorney obtains the deponent's appearance through an informal request of the deponent directly or through his attorney, or obtains the deponent's appearance through a formal means, including a notice of deposition or subpoena.

            (6) Nothing contained in this Paragraph shall preclude the court from awarding the charges of the certified shorthand reporter as a court cost.

            C. The party taking the deposition shall give prompt notice to all other parties of its availability for inspection or copying.

            D. The taking of a deposition shall be considered a step in the prosecution or defense of an action for the purposes of Article 561, notwithstanding that the deposition is not filed in the record of the proceedings.

            Acts 1989, No. 388, §1, eff. June 30, 1989; Acts 1992, No. 336, §1; Acts 1992, No. 1002, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 1992; Acts 2017, No. 268, §1.