Current through Rules and Regulations filed through December 27, 2023
(a) At any time during the course of a
proceeding, a Tribunal Judge may order that the testimony of a witness is to be
taken by deposition or in response to written questions.
(b) A Tribunal Judge may specify whether the
scope of examination by deposition should be limited.
(c) Procedures for oral depositions to secure
testimony shall be as follows:
(1)
Examination and cross-examination of a deponent shall proceed under the same
rules of evidence as are applicable to hearings under this Chapter. Each
deponent shall be duly sworn by an officer authorized to administer oaths by
the laws of the United States or the place where the examination is held, and
the deponent's testimony shall be recorded and transcribed. Any objections made
at the time of the deposition to the qualifications of the officer taking the
deposition, to the manner in which the deposition was taken, to the evidence
presented, to the conduct of any party, or to the proceedings shall be recorded
and included in the transcript. Evidence to which there is an objection shall
be taken subject to the objection.
(2) Any error or irregularity in the notice
of taking testimony by deposition shall be deemed waived unless written
objection thereto is filed with the Clerk and served upon all parties prior to
the deposition in accordance with this Chapter. Any objection relating to the
qualifications of the officer before whom the deposition is to be taken shall
be deemed waived unless made before the deposition begins or as soon thereafter
as the alleged lack of qualification becomes known or should have been
discovered in the exercise of reasonable diligence.
(3) Any objection to the competency of a
witness or to the competency, relevancy, or materiality of testimony is not
waived by failure to make an objection before or during the deposition unless
the ground of the objection is one which might have been removed if presented
at the time. Any error or irregularity occurring during the deposition in the
administration of the oath or affirmation, the manner in which the deposition
was taken, the form of questions or the answers thereto, the conduct of any
party, or any error of a kind which might have been removed or cured if timely
raised, shall be deemed waived unless reasonable objection thereto is made at
the deposition.
(4) Any error or
irregularity in the manner in which the testimony is transcribed or the
deposition is prepared, certified, transmitted, filed, or otherwise dealt with
by the officer taking the deposition shall be deemed waived unless a motion to
strike all or a part of the deposition is made with reasonable promptness after
such error or irregularity is or should have been ascertained in the exercise
of reasonable diligence.
(5) The
deposition shall be transcribed, certified, and filed with the Clerk. Any party
who contends that the transcript does not truly or fully disclose what
transpired at the deposition shall file a notice with the Clerk specifying
alleged errors and omissions within ten (10) days of the filing of the
deposition. If the parties are unable to agree as to the alleged errors and
omissions, the Tribunal Judge shall set the matter down for hearing with notice
to all parties for the purpose of resolving the differences so as to make the
record conform to the truth.
(6)
Documents and things produced for inspection during the examination of the
witness shall be marked for identification and attached to and filed with the
deposition, and may be inspected and copied by a party. Copies may be
substituted for originals if each party is given an opportunity to compare the
proffered copy with the original to verify its correctness.
(d)
(1) A party may make an application to the
Tax Tribunal to take a deposition, otherwise allowed under this Chapter and the
Civil Practice Act, upon written questions rather than oral examination. The
provisions of the Civil Practice Act shall apply in all respects to such a
deposition except to the extent clearly inapplicable. Unless there is a special
reason for taking the deposition on written questions rather than oral
examination, the Tax Tribunal will deny the application, without prejudice to
taking the deposition upon oral examination. The taking of depositions upon
written questions is not favored, except when the deposition is to be taken in
a foreign country, in which event the deposition must be taken on written
questions unless otherwise directed by the Tribunal for good cause
shown.
(2) An application under
paragraph (1) above shall have the written questions annexed thereto.
A party has 20 days following service of the application in
which to object, and within that 20-day period the objecting or responding
party shall also file with the Tribunal any cross-questions which such party
may desire to be asked at the taking of the deposition. The applicant shall
then file any objections to the cross-questions, as well as any redirect
questions, within 15 days after service on the applicant of the
cross-questions. Within 15 days after service of the redirect questions on the
other party, the other party shall file with the Tribunal any objections to the
redirect questions, as well as any recross-questions which the other party may
desire to be asked. No objection to a written question will be considered
unless it is filed with the Tribunal within such applicable time. The party
filing the original application and all parties responding thereto shall file
the original copy of all questions and objections with the Clerk and will serve
a copy on the opposite party. The Tribunal Judge for good cause shown may
enlarge or shorten the time in any respect.
(3) The officer taking the deposition shall
propound all questions to the witness in their proper order. The parties and
their counsel may attend the taking of the deposition but shall not participate
in the deposition proceeding in any manner.
(e) Unless otherwise ordered by a Tribunal
Judge, a party submitting written direct testimony in support of an issue on
which it has the burden of proof shall file and serve the written direct
testimony upon all parties no less than fifteen (15) days before the hearing.
The admissibility of the evidence contained in written testimony shall be
subject to the same rules as if the testimony were produced under oral
examination. The witness presenting the statement shall swear to or affirm the
statement at the hearing and shall be subject to full
cross-examination.
(f) Subject to
appropriate rulings on objections, a deposition or written direct testimony
shall be received in evidence as if the testimony had been given by the witness
before a Tribunal Judge.
(g)
Whenever used in this Rule, the word "witness" shall be construed to include
parties.
O.C.G.A. §
50-13A-15(b).
Original Rule entitled
"Depositions; Written Direct Testimony" adopted. F. Mar. 4, 2015; eff. Mar. 24, 2015.