Florida Litigation: Can a Minor be Deposed if the Minor is a Material Witness in the Matter?

An April 19, 2017 Second DCA opinion discusses depositions and deposing a minor in Florida. Here, an eight year old child was in a car accident with his mother. He was the only witness as to the circumstances in his mother’s car at the time of the crash, including the force of impact and whether she was wearing a seat belt. Benvenuto filed a protective order to avoid having her son deposed. The trial court granted it. However, the Second DCA quashed the order.

Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.310(a) provides that after commencement of the action, a party may take a deposition of ANY person. Rule 1.280(c) provides that a party or person from whom discovery is sought may seek a protective order and that the trial court may issue an order that denies or restricts discovery “for good cause shown.” Here, the minor boy was a material witness. What is a material witness? “A material witness is one who possesses information going to some fact affecting the merits of the cause and about which no other witness might testify.” The trial court had not required Benevento to establish good cause for the protective order. To read the entire opinion, click here.