NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8646
SPONSOR: Lavine TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to clari-
fying that pretrial motions in limine are not required in order for
deposition testimony to be introduced at trial
PURPOSE:
Clarifies that pretrial motions in limine are not required in order for
deposition testimony to be introduced at trial.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends rule 3117 of the civil practice law and rules by
adding a new subdivision (e) that affirms a litigant's right to use
deposition testimony in accordance with the rule without needing to
first seek the court's permission through a pretrial motion.
Section 2: Effective Date
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill codifies the existing understanding and intent of Rule 3117,
which permits the use of deposition testimony at trial under defined
circumstances. Recently, some courts have imposed procedural barriers by
requiring litigants to first make motions in limine to use such testimo-
ny, contrary to the efficient and equitable use of discovery tools. This
clarification will reduce unnecessary motion practice, streamline trial
preparation, and ensure that relevant and properly obtained deposition
testimony is not excluded due to procedural technicalities. It supports
fair trial practices.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8646
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 22, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LAVINE -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to clari-
fying that pretrial motions in limine are not required in order for
deposition testimony to be introduced at trial
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Rule 3117 of the civil practice law and rules is amended by
2 adding a new subdivision (e) to read as follows:
3 (e) Pretrial motion not required. A litigant's right to use deposi-
4 tion testimony in accordance with this rule shall not be subject to any
5 requirement by the court that permission to use such deposition testimo-
6 ny must first be obtained from the court by making a pretrial motion.
7 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13054-01-5
