A named individual (responder) is only obligated to produce documents which exist and are already under his/her custody and control. You are not required to create documents that do not exist, or to procure documents not in your or your department’s possession or control. If the documents called for do not exist or are not in the possession or control of the individual subpoenaed, the responder should notify the subpoenaing party of this fact in writing. Subpoenas may attach an "Affidavit of No Records" that can be completed by the custodian if in fact no responsive records exist...
If a process server attempts service of a Summons and Complaint on any University entity (The Regents, UCOP, UC Berkeley, or any campus department, academic or otherwise), s/he should be directed to Office of the General Counsel (OGC), 1111 Franklin Street, 8th Floor, Oakland, CA 94607-5200. OGC is the only entity authorized to accept service of a Summons and Complaint on behalf of The Regents or a UC entity.
If an individual is named and being served, the law requires that...
If a process server is “at your door” and you know nothing about service of process, and the document does not look familiar to you even if it may look legal, you are not obligated to accept it. Refer the individual serving the document to Office of Legal Affairs (OLA). Further, if you receive a phone call from an attorney’s office or a company handling service of process of subpoenas and summons and complaints, refer them to OLA at (510) 642-7122.
No, but it depends on the complexity and sensitivity of the documents, the testimony which one is asked to provide (if any), and the nature of the proceedings.
However, the Office of Legal Affairs mustbe consulted if:
A) UC Berkeley, a campus department, and/or a campus employee in his/her official capacity are named as either a plaintiff or a defendant. Under these circumstances, OLA will make arrangements with either Office of the General Counsel or outside counsel for representation, if appropriate....
Formal personal delivery of documents for both types of service (Summons and Complaint, Subpoenas) is required and important because these documents impose legal obligations on the person or entity they are delivered to. Failure to comply with these court orders can result in penalties
The subpoenaing party is responsible for costs incurred by the University in responding to a subpoena, as follows:
Witness Fees In Civil Case
If the witness is required to personally accompany the documents requested in a subpoena duces tecum for a deposition or trial in a civil action, the witness is entitled to all normal allowable daily fees (currently $35.00) plus mileage actually traveled (currently $0.20 per mile), both ways, at the prevailing rate, and any additional...
i. A Witness Subpoena is a court order requiring a person to appear in court on a certain date and testify as a witness, usually in a trial.
ii. A Subpoena Duces Tecum (meaning ‘subpoena for production of evidence’) is a court order requiring the person subpoenaed to produce books, documents or other records under his or her control at a specified time/place in a court hearing or a deposition. Oftentimes...
When a full-time employee in a career position is served with a subpoena which compels the employee's presence as a witness and the subpoena relates to the employee’s University employment, the employee shall be granted leave with pay for actual time spent at the proceeding and for related travel.
A part-time employee in a career position shall be granted leave with pay for time spent at the proceeding and for related travel which occurs during the employee's regularly scheduled working hours.
The typical subpoena issued and served on the University is a subpoena for records and may be addressed to the “Custodian of Records” or to a department with a physical location listed (e.g., Registrar's Office). This type of subpoena should be personally served, and accepted by the appropriate custodian. It may also be accepted by others in a campus department with authority over those records.
[CLICK HERE for a list of campus records custodians]
It is possible to negotiate the scope of records to be released in response to a subpoena. Oftentimes, a party issuing a subpoena (“requestor”) is on a “fishing expedition” with no idea what documents exist or how files are organized. The requestor may have no interest in spending time reviewing extraneous documents, and may be satisfied, after a conversation, with something less than what is called for in the initial request. However, be very careful not to negotiate production of anything beyond what is called for in the subpoena, unless you are certain that the additional documents are...
