Designated Corporate Witness Must Testify About “Information Known Or Reasonably Available” To Entity

In response to a Rule 30(b)(6) notice of deposition, a company “must then designate one or more officers, directors, or managing agents, or designate other persons who consent to testify on its behalf; and it may set out the matters on which each person designated will testify … The persons designated must testify about information known or reasonably available to the organization.”  The rule, however, does not obligate the noticed entity to produce a specific corporate witness, which the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri emphasized yesterday.  The sole topic for the 30(b)(6) examination in question was a railroad’s notice of a company’s CERCLA contribution claims at various mining sites.  The railroad designated its Vice President of Safety, Security, and Environment, but the company that noticed the deposition argued to the court that the designated witness was not adequately prepared to answer questions about the railroad’s notice.  The court rejected this argument and concluded that the witness testified about “information known or reasonably available” to the railroad, which was consistent with the rule’s requirements:  “At some point, discovery must close and the case must progress.”