I have been supoenaed to testify and do not want to testify on behalf of my company as I no longer work there - not authorized

You have no choice but to respond to the subpoena. If you do not testify you can be held in contempt of court and be subject to monetary sanctions. You are not testifying as an authorized representative of the R.E. Co., but as a person who has some knowledge about what occurred. This sounds like it is for a trial. You are entitled to statutory witness fees and mileage before you testify. In addition, most attorney's will allow you to be "on call" This means you do not have to show up at the time specified on the subpoena, but agree to appear when needed at the trial.

The response given is not intended to create, nor does it create an ongoing duty to respond to questions. The response does not form an attorney-client relationship, nor is it intended to be anything other than the educated opinion of the author. It should not be relied upon as legal advice. The response given is based upon the limited facts provided by the person asking the question. To the extent additional or different facts exist, the response might possibly change.

I would have had the attorney for the defunct R.E. Co. do a Motion to Quash the subpoena for your deposition. I doubt if they would have wanted you to testify, based on what you said. Or, you could have retained your own attorney to do a Motion to Quash the deposition subpoena. And, at the very least you could have gotten limitations on the scope of the deposition. An 8 hour deposition in this kind of transaction seems prima facie unreasonable to me, although what do I know, I'm a litigation attorney from the opposite coast.

However, now that you have given your deposition, how can you argue not to also testify at trial?

Retain your own attorney to attempt a Motion to Quash.

Also, heavy "editing" of deposition testimony is not generally favored. Usually deposition corrections and revisions are just that to correct minor erors such as you said Dr. Smyth when it was really Dr. Stone, and that sort of thing.


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You do have the legal right to testify, not as an authorized officer of the defunct company, but as a "percipient" witness with knowledge about what happened. The subpoena is not an inivitation you can ignore, it's an order enforceable by the court. Like the deposition subpoena, you need to obey it and do your civic duty and show up and testify about what you know.

You can contact the subpoenaing lawyer, as my colleague suggested ti be "on call" for when they actually need you, but not showing up is not an option, unless you're willing to risk contempt charges.

Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.