(a) For Attendance
of Witnesses: Forms; Issuance. Every subpoena shall be issued by the Commission
Secretary or as provided in Miss. Code Ann. Section
71-3-61,
under the seal of the Commission, shall state the name of the Commission and
the title of the claim, and shall command each person to whom it is directed to
attend and give testimony at a time and place therein specified. The Commission
Secretary shall issue a subpoena, or a subpoena for the production of
documentary evidence, signed and sealed, but otherwise in blank, to a party
requesting it, who shall fill it in before service. The Commission's official
subpoena forms, signed and sealed but otherwise in blank, may be printed from
the Commission website.
(b) For
Production of Documentary Evidence.
(1) A
subpoena may also command the person to whom it is directed to produce the
books, papers, documents, or tangible things designated therein; and in such
cases, the party to whom the subpoena is directed is entitled to be reimbursed
by the requesting party for the reasonable costs of producing the things
subpoenaed; but the Commission or Administrative Judge, upon motion made
promptly and in any event at or before the time specified in the subpoena for
compliance therewith, may (a) quash or modify the subpoena if it is
unreasonable and oppressive or (b) condition the denial of the motion upon the
advance by the person in whose behalf the subpoena is issued of the reasonable
cost of producing the books, papers, documents, or tangible things. The
subpoena duces tecum form, signed and sealed by the Commission Secretary but
otherwise in blank, may be printed from the Commission website.
(2) A subpoena issued pursuant to
subparagraph (b)(1) of this Rule may compel the production of books, papers,
documents, or tangible things by the person in possession, custody, or control
thereof without the necessity that such person be deposed.
(3) Unless for good cause shown the
Commission or Administrative Judge enlarges or shortens the time, a subpoena
issued pursuant to subparagraph (b)(1) of this Rule shall allow not less than
ten (10) days for the person upon whom it is served to produce the books,
papers, documents, or tangible things therein specified. A copy of all such
subpoenas shall be served forthwith upon counsel for all opposite parties.
(c) Service.
A subpoena may be served by the sheriff, by his deputy, or
by any person who is not a party and is not less than eighteen (18) years of
age; and his return endorsed thereon shall be prima facie proof of service, or
the witness may acknowledge service in writing on the subpoena. Service of the
subpoena shall be executed upon the witness personally.
(d) Subpoena for Taking Depositions; Place of
Examination.
(1) Proof of service of a notice
to take deposition as provided in Rules 30(b) and 31(a) of the Mississippi
Rules of Civil Procedure constitutes a sufficient authorization for the
issuance by the Commission Secretary of subpoenas for the persons named or
described therein. The subpoena may command the person to whom it is directed
to produce and permit inspection and copying of designated books, papers,
documents, or tangible things which constitute or contain matters within the
scope of the examination permitted by Rule 26(b) of the Mississippi Rules of
Civil Procedure, but in that event the subpoena will be subject to the
provisions of Rule 26(b) and subdivision (b)(1) of this Rule. The subpoena for
taking deposition form, signed and sealed by the Commission Secretary but
otherwise in blank, may be printed from the Commission website.
(2) The person to whom the subpoena is
directed may within ten (10) days after the service thereof or on or before the
time specified in the subpoena for compliance if such time is less than ten
(10) days after service serve upon the attorney designated in the subpoena
written objection to inspection or copying of any or all of the designated
materials. If objection is made, the party serving the subpoena shall not be
entitled to inspect and copy the material except pursuant to an order of the
Commission or Administrative Judge and the party serving the subpoena may, if
objection has been made, move upon notice to the deponent for an order at any
time before or during the taking of the deposition.
(3) A resident of the State of Mississippi
may be required to attend an examination only in the county wherein he resides
or is employed or transacts his business in person, or at such other convenient
place as is fixed by an order of the Commission or Administrative Judge. A
nonresident of this state subpoenaed within this state may be required to
attend only in the county wherein he is served, or at a place within this state
not more than forty (40) miles from the place of service, or at such other
convenient place as is fixed by an order of the Commission or Administrative
Judge.
(e) Subpoena for
a Hearing or Trial. At the request of any party subpoenas for attendance at a
hearing or trial shall be issued by the Secretary of the Commission, if
available, otherwise by a Commissioner or an Administrative Judge. The subpoena
of witness form, signed and sealed by the Commission Secretary but otherwise in
blank, may be printed from the Commission website. A subpoena requiring the
attendance of a witness at a hearing or trial may be served at any place within
the state.
(f) Contempt. Failure
by any person without adequate excuse to obey a subpoena served upon him may be
certified to the proper Circuit Court for contempt proceedings by the
Commission.
(g) Sanctions. On
motion of a party or of the person upon whom a subpoena for the production of
books, papers, documents, or tangible things is served and upon a showing that
the subpoena power is being exercised in bad faith or in such manner as
unreasonably to annoy, embarrass, or oppress the party or the person upon whom
the subpoena is served, the Commission may order that the subpoena be quashed
and may enter such further orders as justice may require to curb abuses of the
power granted under this Rule. To this end, the Commission or Administrative
Judge may award to the successful movant attorney's fees and expenses for
challenging the subpoena and may order that they be paid directly by the
attorney who caused the issuance of such subpoena.
(h) Witness Fees. Witnesses subpoenaed to
appear in proceedings before the Commission shall receive a witness fee of
Twenty Five Dollars ($25.00) per day plus mileage at the rate authorized by
Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission General Rule
1.14. The Commission or Administrative
Judge may allow the payment from the Administrative Expense Fund of said fees
and mileage to witnesses, other than expert medical witnesses, subpoenaed at
the request of claimants.
The Commission may at its discretion suspend or eliminate
payment for expert medical witness fees as provided herein without notice.
Inasmuch as the Administrative Expense Fund is funded by assessments against
the carriers writing compensation insurance in the state and self-insurers, as
provided by Miss. Code Ann. Section
71-3-99,
and inasmuch as the application, computation, requisition, and disbursement of
payments of fees and mileage for witnesses or carriers and self-insurers result
in additional expense which ultimately must be borne by them, said carriers and
self-insurers are, therefore, required to pay said fees and mileage directly to
each witness subpoenaed at their request. It is not intended that carriers and
self-insurers shall pay fees and mileage, if payment of same is ordered to be
paid by claimant pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. Section
71-3-59
of the Act.
