I am happy to report that there were no substantive changes to the Discovery Act. The only change to any of the discovery codes is C.C.P. Section 2025.510 which involves deposition transcripts. As you can see by the 2014 Amendment those changes were more edits than changes:
2014 Amendment:
(1) Substituted “a deposition” for “any deposition” in subd (a); (2) substituted “the transcription” for “that transcription” in subd (b); (3) substituted “The notes may” for “Those notes may” in the second sentence of subd (e); (4) amended subd (g) by (a) deleting the comma after “both stenographically”; and (b) substituting “shall be the” for “is the”; (5) substituted “product or service that is” for “products or services that are” in subd (h)(1); (6) added subd (h)(4); and (7) redesignated former subd (h)(4) to be subd (h)(5).
The code section now reads:
§ 2025.510. Transcription of testimony; Costs; Who may obtain copies and when; Retention of stenographic notes; Access to recorded testimony; Stenographic testimony as official record
(a) Unless the parties agree otherwise, the testimony at any deposition recorded by stenographic means shall be transcribed.
(b) The party noticing the deposition shall bear the cost of the transcription, unless the court, on motion and for good cause shown, orders that the cost be borne or shared by another party.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 2025.320, any other party or the deponent, at the expense of that party or deponent, may obtain a copy of the transcript.
(d) If the deposition officer receives a request from a party for an original or a copy of the deposition transcript, or any portion thereof, and the full or partial transcript will be available to that party prior to the time the original or copy would be available to any other party, the deposition officer shall immediately notify all other parties attending the deposition of the request, and shall, upon request by any party other than the party making the original request, make that copy of the full or partial deposition transcript available to all parties at the same time.
(e) Stenographic notes of depositions shall be retained by the reporter for a period of not less than eight years from the date of the deposition, where no transcript is produced, and not less than one year from the date on which the transcript is produced. The notes may be either on paper or electronic media, as long as it allows for satisfactory production of a transcript at any time during the periods specified.
(f) At the request of any other party to the action, including a party who did not attend the taking of the deposition testimony, any party who records or causes the recording of that testimony by means of audio or video technology shall promptly do both of the following:
(1) Permit that other party to hear the audio recording or to view the video recording.
(2) Furnish a copy of the audio or video recording to that other party on receipt of payment of the reasonable cost of making that copy of the recording.
(g) If the testimony at the deposition is recorded both stenographically and by audio or video technology, the stenographic transcript shall be the official record of that testimony for the purpose of the trial and any subsequent hearing or appeal.
(h)
(1) The requesting attorney or party appearing in propria persona shall timely pay the deposition officer or the entity providing the services of the deposition officer for the transcription or copy of the transcription described in subdivision (b) or ©, and any other deposition product or service that is requested either orally or in writing.
(2) This subdivision shall apply unless responsibility for the payment is otherwise provided by law or unless the deposition officer or entity is notified in writing at the time the services or products are requested that the party or another identified person will be responsible for payment.
(3) This subdivision does not prohibit or supersede an agreement between an attorney and a party allocating responsibility for the payment of deposition costs to the party.
(4) Nothing in the case of Serrano v. Stefan Merli Plastering Co., Inc. (2008) 162 Cal.App.4th 1014 shall be construed to alter the standards by which a court acquires personal jurisdiction over a nonparty to an action.
(5) The requesting attorney or party appearing in propria persona, upon the written request of a deposition officer who has obtained a final judgment for payment of services provided pursuant to this subdivision, shall provide to the deposition officer an address that can be used to effectuate service for the purpose of Section 708.110 in the manner specified in Section 415.10.
(i) For purposes of this section, “deposition product or service” means any product or service provided in connection with a deposition that qualifies as shorthand reporting, as described in Section 8017 of the Business and Professions Code, and any product or service derived from that shorthand reporting.
Also be aware C.C.P. Section 128.5 is again alive and kicking, but will be repealed in 2018 when a second version of CCP Section 128.5 goes into effect. The 2015 version reads as follows:
128.5. (First of two; Repealed January 1, 2018) Expenses for frivolous action, bad faith, or delay; Inapplicability to discovery; Punitive damages; Provision of copy to California Research Bureau
(a) A trial court may order a party, the party’s attorney, or both to pay the reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees, incurred by another party as a result of bad-faith actions or tactics that are frivolous or solely intended to cause unnecessary delay. This section also applies to judicial arbitration proceedings under Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 1141.10) of Title 3 of Part 3.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Actions or tactics” include, but are not limited to, the making or opposing of motions or the filing and service of a complaint, cross-complaint, answer, or other responsive pleading. The mere filing of a complaint without service thereof on an opposing party does not constitute “actions or tactics” for purposes of this section.
(2) “Frivolous” means totally and completely without merit or for the sole purpose of harassing an opposing party.
(c) Expenses pursuant to this section shall not be imposed except on notice contained in a party’s moving or responding papers or , on the court’s own motion, after notice and opportunity to be heard. An order imposing expenses shall be in writing and shall recite in detail the conduct or circumstances justifying the order.
(d) In addition to any award pursuant to this section for conduct described in subdivision (a), the court may assess punitive damages against the plaintiff on a determination by the court that the plaintiff’s action was an action maintained by a person convicted of a felony against the person’s victim, or the victim’s heirs, relatives, estate, or personal representative, for injuries arising from the acts for which the person was convicted of a felony, and that the plaintiff is guilty of fraud, oppression, or malice in maintaining the action.
(e) This section shall not apply to disclosures and discovery requests, responses, objections, and motions.
(f) Any sanctions imposed pursuant to this section shall be imposed consistently with the standards, conditions, and procedures set forth in subdivisions ©, (d), and (h) of Section 128.7.
(g) The liability imposed by this section is in addition to any other liability imposed by law for acts or omissions within the purview of this section.
(h)
(1) A party who files a motion pursuant to this section shall, promptly upon filing, transmit to the California Research Bureau of the California State Library, by email, a copy of the endorsed, filed caption page of the motion or opposition, a copy of any related notice of appeal or petition for a writ, and a conformed copy of any order issued pursuant to this section, including any order granting or denying the motion. The party shall also indicate whether a motion for sanctions was made pursuant to Section 128.7.
(2) The California Research Bureau shall maintain a public record of information transmitted pursuant to this section for at least three years, or until this section is repealed, whichever occurs first, and may store the information on microfilm or other appropriate electronic media.
(i) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends that date.
Have a Happy New Year!!