Preparing Your Rule 30(b)(6) Witness in a TCPA Case
In a TCPA case, the plaintiff can notice a deposition of the company itself, and the company picks the witness. The witness speaks for the company about whatever the notice lists, and the rule requires testimony on “information known or reasonably available to the organization,” not just what the witness happens to know. A designee who learned the subject on the way to the deposition gives the plaintiff the best material in the case. A designee who has been prepared, on the right topics, can close issues instead.
What does Rule 30(b)(6) require of the company?
The rule says a party “may name as the deponent a public or private corporation, a partnership, an association, a governmental agency, or other entity and must describe with reasonable particularity the matters for examination,” per Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(b)(6). The organization “must designate one or more officers, directors, or managing agents, or designate other persons who consent to testify on its behalf; and it may set out the matters on which each person designated will testify.”
Several points follow from the text. The company chooses the witnesses, and may choose more than one. The witnesses may be assigned by topic. And the standard is broad. The rule says: “The persons designated must testify about information known or reasonably available to the organization.”
That last sentence is the source of the preparation duty. A designee isn’t limited to personal knowledge. The company has to equip the witness with what its records, its employees, and, where reasonably available, its vendors know about the topics. In a TCPA case that can mean information held by a dialer vendor, a lead source, or a texting platform.
Can we negotiate the topics?
Yes, and the rule says you should. “Before or promptly after the notice or subpoena is served, the serving party and the organization must confer in good faith about the matters for examination,” according to the same rule. Use the conference. A notice that lists every communication with any customer, or the company’s compliance with the TCPA generally, lacks reasonable particularity, and it is worth saying so in writing before the deposition.
If the conference fails, the rules provide other tools. A party from whom discovery is sought “may move for a protective order,” and the court may issue one “for good cause” to protect against “annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense,” under Rule 26(c)(1). And the scope of discovery is limited to matters “relevant to any party’s claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case,” per Rule 26(b)(1).
In my view, the best use of the conference is to narrow topics to what matters in the case. A plaintiff with an individual claim doesn’t need testimony about every campaign the company ever ran. A plaintiff with a class claim will want broader testimony on systems and practices, and a defendant who offers a reasonable way to provide it, such as a designee on the dialer and a separate one on consent, is better placed than one who stonewalls.
Which topics come up in a TCPA case?
A notice can list almost anything, so I’d expect a few themes: how the company obtained the plaintiff’s number and any consent; the system used to send the calls or texts; how stop requests are processed; the company’s relationship with vendors and lead sources; its written policies; and its records and retention. Those themes follow from the elements of the claims, which depend on consent, on the equipment, and on how opt-outs were handled.
| Topic area | What the witness needs | Source of the information |
|---|---|---|
| Consent for the plaintiff’s number | The form, the date, the page version, the verification record | Marketing, web team, lead vendor |
| Dialing or texting system | How the system picks numbers and sends messages | IT, the platform vendor |
| Opt-out handling | The path of a stop request and the suppression date | Customer service, platform logs |
| Vendors and lead sources | Contracts, instructions, audit rights | Procurement, legal |
| Policies and training | The written policy and the training records | Compliance, HR |
| Retention | What was kept and what was deleted, and when | IT, legal |
How should the witness be prepared?
Start with the documents. The designee should read the consent record, the message log for the plaintiff’s number, the policy in force on the relevant dates, and the vendor contracts. Prepare a short chronology of what happened to this plaintiff’s number, and have the witness practice walking through it.
Then fill the gaps with people. Interview the employees who run the systems, and the vendor contact if the vendor holds the data. The rule’s standard of what is reasonably available means a witness who says the vendor knows and the company doesn’t is likely to be asked why the company didn’t ask.
Finally, practice the hard questions. Expect questions about what the company did not do: why the stop request took the time it did, why no one audited the vendor, why a policy wasn’t followed. A witness who has thought about those answers will sound candid. One who hasn’t will sound evasive, and in a case that may turn on whether a violation was willful or knowing, that impression matters.
What does a prepared designee sound like?
Prepared witnesses answer the question asked, in the company’s voice. They say what the log shows when a log shows it, and they say the company has no record when it has none after a real search. They don’t guess about the plaintiff’s state of mind, and they don’t argue the law. When a question is outside the noticed topics, they say so and wait for counsel to state an objection, which keeps the record clean.
I’d rehearse the exchange on dates, because TCPA testimony often depends on a sequence: when the number was collected, when the first message was sent, when the stop request arrived, and when the suppression took effect. A witness who confuses the order will give the plaintiff a gap to build a theory around, so I’d have the chronology on one page the witness can use to refresh recollection if the rules and the circumstances allow it.
Mock questioning helps more than reading outlines. Have a lawyer who isn’t on the case ask the hardest questions, and record the session so the witness can hear how the answers sound. The point is to find the hesitations now.
What mistakes hurt most?
Designating one person for everything is the first mistake. A single witness can’t carry dialer technology, consent collection, and legal policy in one deposition, and a weak answer on one topic taints the rest. Splitting topics among witnesses with real knowledge is usually better.
Preparing from memory is the second. A witness who says “I believe” for facts that are in a log invites follow-up and impeachment. And the third is producing a witness who is hostile or defensive, since the transcript is the document a mediator and a judge read.
I’d also keep privileged material out of the preparation binder, and tell the witness plainly what not to say about conversations with counsel. A designee who volunteers what counsel said puts the company’s privilege at risk.
What to gather before the deposition
- Obtain the notice and list every topic, marking which are objectionable and why.
- Confer in writing with plaintiff’s counsel and record what was agreed.
- Collect the documents and logs for each topic and identify who in the company or at a vendor can answer questions about them.
- Choose a designee for each topic, then schedule preparation sessions with documents in hand.
- Talk to a lawyer before the deposition about privilege, protective orders, and any topic you intend to resist.
The firm’s TCPA litigation defense page describes how these claims move through court. For the other side of the table, see the earlier post on deposing the TCPA plaintiff, and for the records themselves, proving TCPA consent at summary judgment.
Questions defendants ask about corporate depositions
Who can we designate?
Officers, directors, managing agents, or other persons who consent to testify on the company’s behalf, in the words of the rule. A lawyer isn’t a good choice for a topic where privilege will come up.
What if the witness doesn’t know the answer?
The company is expected to have prepared the witness on the listed topics. An answer of not knowing something the company’s records show invites a second deposition or a motion.
Can we object to a topic and still produce a witness on the rest?
Often yes. State the objection in writing, produce a witness on the topics you accept, and move for a protective order on the rest if the conference fails. Don’t refuse to attend.
Does the designee’s testimony bind the company?
I’d treat it as the company’s testimony for planning purposes. How a court treats a correction later depends on the circumstances, so correct errors promptly and in writing.
Defending a TCPA case through the company’s deposition
If your company has been sued under the TCPA, the corporate deposition is often where the case is won or lost on consent, on equipment, and on opt-outs. Rosenberger + Kawabata represents businesses defending TCPA lawsuits and class actions through its business litigation practice, including claims involving calls and texts to consumers. Contact Rosenberger + Kawabata online for a free and confidential consultation, or call (310) 894-6921.
Sources
The rules are Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30 and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26.
This post is general information about the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and related laws as of June 1, 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Courts and the FCC change the rules in this area often, and the outcome of any claim depends on its facts. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.