High court considers variations of the apex doctrine

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted July 14, 2022 11:55 AM

Federal precedent on the apex doctrine is “not always uniform,” the Georgia Supreme Court explained when considering General Motors’ request for a protective order blocking wrongful-death plaintiffs from deposing its CEO, Mary Barra, during discovery about an allegedly defective vehicle component. Surveying federal decisions — including different burden-shifting schemes — the high court declined “to employ a special test or framework different than that which generally applies to any claim of good cause made in support of …

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