Title 9
Courts and Civil Procedure — Procedure Generally

Chapter 18
Depositions

R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-18-5

§ 9-18-5. Manner of taking depositions outside state for use in state.

Depositions may be taken without this state to be used in the tribunals of this state, upon written notice conforming to the applicable rules of procedure, and shall be taken in the manner and with the formalities required by the law of this state or the state, district, territory, or country in which the deposition shall be taken; or shall be taken, if taken in any other state, district, or territory of the United States, before a commissioner appointed by the governor of this state, or before a judge, chancellor, justice of the peace, notary public, or civil magistrate of the state, district, or territory, respectively, or, if taken out of the United States, before a resident official of the United States, or, if the deponent is in the military, air, or naval service of the United States, before a colonel, lieutenant colonel, or major in the Army or Air Force, before the chief of operations in the Space Force, or before any officer in the Navy not below the grade and rank of lieutenant commander. And in every such case under the second method, the party causing the depositions to be taken shall notify the adverse party, or the adverse party’s attorney of record, of the time and place appointed for taking the deposition; and the notification issued by the official before whom the deposition is to be taken shall be served, in the manner as provided in § 9-18-4, such reasonable time before the taking of the deposition as will give the adverse party a full opportunity to be present in person or by attorney and put interrogatories to the deponent, if they think fit.

History of Section.
C.P.A. 1905, § 378; G.L. 1909, ch. 292, § 26; G.L. 1923, ch. 342, § 26; G.L. 1938, ch. 539, § 5; G.L. 1956, § 9-18-5; P.L. 1989, ch. 81, § 1; P.L. 1997, ch. 326, § 69; P.L. 2025, ch. 165, § 2, effective June 24, 2025; P.L. 2025, ch. 166, § 2, effective June 24, 2025.