Has anyone had this happen to their LO? My husband received a subpeona to appear for a Discovery Deposition next week. It looks like someone from where he worked has filed some type of claim against the company he worked for. He hasn't worked since July 1 and doesn't even recognize the name of the person suing the company. I have a call into the law firm, but I don't see how he can be deposed. He doesn't follow conversations very well and that's not even counting his poor short term memory. Any advice would be great. Thanks.
get a letter from his dr regarding his dementia. my DH had a lawsuit he started in '97 and it ended in 2000 and i had to take things over for him. he wont be deposed with a medical excuse. send the letter to the law firm asap -divvi
Your husband cannot give a depo, given his problems. What I don't understand is giving you such short notice -- your husband should have been warned at least a month before the proposed time for it.
Obviously, do try to get a letter from the doctor. However, you may have trouble getting a letter from the doctor on such short notice.
There should be at least two law firms listed in the depo, one that represents the defendant and one that represents the complaintant. Try contacting both. Explain the situation, and ask what you should do.
The only thing that makes me nervous about just doing it by phone is that you don't have any records of what was said by whom. So you may want to send a letter (by fax or by certified mail, so you have a record that it was received) confirming what you were told to the law firm that provides instructions to you.
If you have trouble getting through to the lawyers themselves, I would suggest getting the fax numbers for both law firms, and sending a letter to them, stating when your husband was diagnosed with dementia, and by whom. Point out that he had to stop work several months ago due to his mental problems, and that he is on prescription meds for dementia (he's taking Aricept, yes?) Tell them that he is obviously unable to testify under oath, that due to his dementia, he is unable to drive to the place where the deposition is supposed to be taken, and that you do not intend to produce him. Tell them that if they refuse to accept your word for your husband's mental condition, that they must respond to you in writing, and that you will then have his doctor prepare a letter. Tell them that you are attempting to have a letter prepared, but they obviously did not give you enough time with such short notice about the depo. (Be sure to point out how little warning you had, somewhere in your letter.) In the meantime, tell them that they will have to reschedule the depo.
Address the letter to both law firms, so that both are aware that each has been notified. Keep copies of the fax reports to both, so you can prove what you sent, and when.
I wouldn't think that you'd have any trouble from either firm, given the diagnosis. But ... who knows what's going on, or why they want to depose your husband.
Thank you for your input. I am trying to contact the firm that he is supposed to appear at. The contact person is out but they assured me they would email her with my contact info. They tried to deliver the letter on Nov. 3 but we weren't at home--got a FINAL NOTICE from the Post Office on Saturday--the first notice we received and I picked it up first thing this morning.
His neurologist is usually pretty good about doing things within a 24 hour period so if I need a letter I should be able to get one. He is on aricept and when I asked him if he remembered any type of accident or injury occurring at work while he was still there he answered me with "I wasn't hurt at work" so I don't know how he could answer their questions.
Just an update--I spoke with the law firm and they told me to disregard the subpeona and just return them their $25 check they had sent to cover mileage and travel. She said she would notify the other attorney but they could still telephone me. I will send the check back with a letter regarding out converstation by certified so I have a record. Thanks for your help.
Deb----I would suggest when you send your confirmation letter via certified mail, that you "cc" the other law firm also. In addition, to prevent this type of thing from occuring in the future, be sure to call the company your husband used to work for. I suspect that they had to supply a list of employees that the person suing the company had contact with, but if they have to do that again, they could note the nature of your husband's disability on such a list. And I agree with Sunshyne that you shouldn't have any trouble with either law firm once they know what is going on. I'm not a trial lawyer, and I don't know what state you are in, but chances are it is unethical for an attorney to depose someone they know is not mentally competent. Good luck! Also, I think an old thread deals with this, but when my DH was called for jury duty, I sent a copy of his social security disability approval to our county clerk, and they immediately took him off of all the jury duty lists. They said a doctor's letter would work also, but in that case, I had just received the social security letter so that was the easier route.
Texasmom--I'll do as you suggested. The law firm said that my husband is still on their list of employees--probably because he is still on their short term disability and I will be filing for long term and social security disability later this month. He has been out of work since July 1 when his company sent him home due to safety reasons. We are in Illinois
No defense attorney will allow your husband to testify, but you need to cover yourself, as you are doing, just to protect both of you. As usual, Sunshyne had excellent advise...texasmom, too.