11/09/2016

UPDATE: Proposed Amendments to the Rules of Practice and Procedure in Ohio Courts

UPDATE - 11/9/2016

On Friday, November 4, 2016, the Supreme Court of Ohio's Commission on the Rules of Practice & Procedure voted to remove any reference to the pro-rata apportionment of fees for depositions as initially proposed in amendments to Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure 30(C).

With that language withdrawn, the Commission's remaining proposed amendments on all rules/sections will be presented to the Supreme Court of Ohio in December.  After the Supreme Court’s review of all proposed amendments remaining, there will be a second public comment period.  Please click here for a summary of the Supreme Court of Ohio's responsibilities established by the Ohio Constitution related to the rules governing practice and procedure in Ohio courts.

At this time, there is no updated written document with the remaining proposed amendments.  OCRA will provide further updates as soon as they become available.

UPDATE of 10/31/2016

On Friday, October 28, the Civil Rules subcommittee met via conference call and recommended that any language referring to a pro-rata apportionment of deposition fees be removed from the proposed amendments to Civ.R. 30(C). The full commission will vote on that recommendation Friday, November 4.

Following the full commission's meeting scheduled for Friday, November 4, the rule amendment proposals, and all the public comments, will go to the Supreme Court. After the Supreme Court’s review, there will be another 30-day public comment period toward the end of the year.

OCRA will provide further updates as they become available.

Original news bulletin - 10/24/2016

URGENT:  The Supreme Court of Ohio seeks public comment on proposed Ohio Rules amendments (deadline on or before Wednesday, October 26, 2016)

Comments requested: The Supreme Court of Ohio will accept public comments until October 26, 2016, on the following proposed amendments to the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure (4.2, 19.1, 30, 33, 34, 36, 62, and Civil Form 1), the Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure (5, 6, 32.2, and proposed 42), the Ohio Rules of Evidence (103), the Ohio Rules of Appellate Procedure (11.1 and 19), and the Ohio Traffic Rules (16).

Please review the entirety of the proposed amendments to the Rules of Practice and Procedure in Ohio Courts by clicking here.  Reference to pages 8-9 of 30 and page 18 of 30.

Specifically, as it relates to “Depositions upon oral examination” in Ohio, the specific amendments are proposed to the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 30(C), which would add the following language, among other proposed amendments:  “… each party to bear pro rata the recording and transcription costs of that party’s examination.”

You can view the current language of the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 30 by clicking here.

Some items to consider in drafting public comment regarding proposed amendments to Rule 30(C):

• How does this proposed amendment affect the court reporter’s neutrality?
• Whose duty would it be to determine each party’s pro rata participation in a deposition?
• Does this place an undue burden on the court reporter/court reporting firm to track and allocate questioning time, pages of examination and/or other relevant billing information?
• Issues related to billing collection and enforcement regarding disputes.
• Does any state and/or the federal rules contain a provision regarding pro rata costs as it relates to depositions?

Comment Contact: Comments on the proposed amendments must be submitted in writing to Jess Mosser, Policy Counsel, Supreme Court of Ohio, 65 South Front Street, 7th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215-3431 or Jesse.Mosser@sc.ohio.gov and received no later than October 26, 2016. Please include your full name and regular mailing address in any comment submitted by e-mail. Copies of all comments submitted will be provided to each member of the Commission on the Rules of Practice and Procedure and each Justice of the Supreme Court.

Please consider offering public comment to The Supreme Court of Ohio as to how this directly affects your profession and business relations as a court reporter or court reporting firm in Ohio.  Remember:  All public comments are due on or before this Wednesday, October 26th and are to be sent to the attention of Jesse Mosser (address and email listed above).

Click here to view President Susan Gee's public comment on behalf of OCRA

OCRA would like to hear from you concerning the proposed amendments.  Let's present a collective voice of the profession to the Supreme Court in future discussions on this matter.  Please email OCRA at info@ocraonline.com with any public comments you send in regard to the amendments, as well as your additional thoughts.

If you have any questions, please consider contacting Nick Rennillo at nrennillo@veritext.com / (216) 523-1313 or Todd Mobley at tmobley@mobleyreporting.com / (937) 222-2259.