WY · rules
W.R.C.P.Ch.C. 45
Subpoena
(a) In General.
(1) Form and Contents.
(A) Requirements--In General. Every subpoena must:
(i) state the court from which it issued;
(ii) state the title of the action and its civil action number;
(iii) command each person to whom it is directed to do the following at
a specified time and place: attend and testify; produce and permit
inspection, copying, testing, or sampling of designated documents,
electronically stored information, or tangible things in that person’s
possession, custody, or control; or permit the inspection of premises; and
(iv) set out the text of Rule 45 (c), (d) and (e).
(v) A command to produce evidence or to permit inspection, copying,
testing, or sampling may be joined with a command to appear at trial or
hearing or at deposition, or may be issued separately. A subpoena may
specify the form or forms in which electronically stored information is to
be produced.
(2) A subpoena must issue as follows:
(A) Command to Attend Trial. For attendance at a trial or hearing, from
the chancery court in which the action is pending;
(B) Command to Attend a Deposition. For attendance at a deposition,
from the chancery court in which the action is pending, stating the method
for recording the testimony; and
(C) Command to Produce. For production, inspection, copying, testing,
or sampling, if separate from a subpoena commanding a person’s attendance, from the chancery court in which the action is pending.
(3) Issued by Whom. The chancery court clerk shall issue a subpoena,
signed but otherwise in blank, to a party requesting it, who shall complete it
before service. An attorney as officer of the chancery court may also issue and
sign a subpoena on behalf of
(A) a court in which the attorney is authorized to practice; or
(B) a court for a district in which a deposition or production is compelled
by the subpoena, if the deposition or production pertains to an action
pending in a court in which the attorney is authorized to practice.
(4) Notice to Other Parties Before Service. If the subpoena commands the
production of documents, electronically stored information, or tangible
things or the inspection of premises before trial, then before it is served, a
notice must be served on each party.
(b) Service; place of attendance; notice before service.
(1) By Whom and How; Fees. A subpoena may be served by the sheriff, by
a deputy sheriff, or by any other person who is not a party and is not a minor,
at any place within the State of Wyoming. Service of a subpoena upon a
person named therein shall be made by delivering a copy thereof to such
person and, if the person’s attendance is commanded, by tendering to that
person the fees for one day’s attendance and the mileage allowed by law. The
party subpoenaing any witness residing in a county other than that in which
the action is pending shall pay to such witness, after the hearing or trial, the
statutory per diem allowance for state employees for each day or part thereof
necessarily spent by such witness in traveling to and from the court and in
attendance at the hearing or trial.
(2) Service in Another State or Territory. A subpoena may be served in
another state or territory of the United States as provided by the law of that
state or territory.
(3) Service in a Foreign Country. A subpoena may be served in a foreign
country as provided by the law of that country.
(4) Proof of Service. Proving service, when necessary, requires filing with
the clerk of the chancery court by which the subpoena is issued, a statement
of the date and manner of service and of the names of the persons served.
The statement must be certified by the person who made the service.
(5) Place of Compliance for Trial. A subpoena for trial or hearing may
require the person subpoenaed to appear at the trial or hearing irrespective
of the person’s place of residence, place of employment, or where such person
regularly transacts business in person.
(6) Place of Compliance for Deposition. A person commended by subpoena
to appear at a deposition may be required to attend only in the county
wherein that person resides or is employed or regularly transacts business
in person, or at such other convenient place as is fixed by an order of
chancery court. A nonresident of the state may be required to attend only in
the county wherein that nonresident is served with a subpoena or at such
other convenient place as is fixed by an order of chancery court.
(c) Protecting a Person Subject to Subpoena; Enforcement.
(1) Avoiding Undue Burden or Expense; Sanctions. A party or an attorney
responsible for the issuance and service of a subpoena shall take reasonable
steps to avoid imposing undue burden or expense on a person subject to that
subpoena. The chancery court shall enforce this duty and impose upon the
party or attorney in breach of this duty an appropriate sanction, which may
include, but is not limited to, lost earnings and a reasonable attorney’s fee.
(2) Command to Produce Materials or Permit Inspection.
(A) Appearance not Required. A person commanded to produce and
permit inspection, copying, testing, or sampling of designated electronically stored information, books, papers, documents or tangible things, or
inspection of premises need not appear in person at the place of production
or inspection unless also commanded to appear for deposition, hearing or
trial.
(B) Objections. Subject to paragraph (d)(2) of this rule, a person
commanded to produce and permit inspection, copying, testing, or sampling may, within 14 days after service of the subpoena or before the time
specified for compliance if such time is less than 14 days after service,
serve upon the party or attorney designated in the subpoena written
objection to producing any or all of the designated materials or inspection
of the premises--or to producing electronically stored information in the
form or forms requested. If objection is made, the party serving the
subpoena shall not be entitled to inspect, copy, test, or sample the
materials or inspect the premises except pursuant to an order of the
chancery court by which the subpoena was issued. If objection has been
made, the party serving the subpoena may, upon notice to the person
commanded to produce, move at any time for an order to compel the
production, inspection, copying, testing, or sampling. Such an order to
compel shall protect any person who is not a party or an officer of a party
from significant expense resulting from the inspection, copying, testing, or
sampling commanded.
(3) Quashing or Modifying a Subpoena.
(A) When Required. On timely motion, the chancery court by which a
subpoena was issued shall quash or modify the subpoena if it
(i) fails to allow reasonable time for compliance;
(ii) requires a person who is not a party or an officer of a party to
travel outside that person’s county of residence or employment or a
county where that person regularly transacts business in person except
that, subject to the provisions of clause (c)(3)(B)(iii) of this rule, such a
person may in order to attend trial be commanded to travel from any
such place within the state in which the trial is held;
(iii) requires disclosure of privileged or other protected matter and no
exception or waiver applies; or
(iv) subjects a person to undue burden.
(B) When Permitted. If a subpoena
(i) requires disclosure of a trade secret or other confidential research,
development, or commercial information, or
(ii) requires disclosure of an unretained expert’s opinion or information not describing specific events or occurrences in dispute and resulting from the expert’s study made not at the request of any party, or
(iii) requires a person who is not a party or an officer of a party to
incur substantial expense to travel to attend trial.
The chancery court may, to protect a person subject to or affected by the
subpoena, quash or modify the subpoena or, if the party in whose behalf the
subpoena is issued shows substantial need for the testimony or material that
cannot be otherwise met without undue hardship and assures that the person
to whom the subpoena is addressed will be reasonably compensated, the
chancery court may order appearance or production only upon specified
conditions.
(d) Duties in Responding to Subpoena.
(1) Producing Documents or Electronically Stored Information.
(A) Documents. A person responding to a subpoena to produce documents shall produce them as they are kept in the usual course of business
or shall organize and label them to correspond with the categories in the
demand.
(B) Form of Electronically Stored Information if Not Specified. If a
subpoena does not specify the form or forms for producing electronically
stored information, a person responding to a subpoena must produce the
information in a form or forms in which the person ordinarily maintains it
or in a form or forms that are reasonably usable.
(C) Electronically Stored Information Produced in Only One Form. A
person responding to a subpoena need not produce the same electronically
stored information in more than one form.
(D) Inaccessible Electronically Stored Information. A person responding
to a subpoena need not provide discovery of electronically stored information from sources that the person identifies as not reasonably accessible
because of undue burden or cost. On motion to compel discovery or to
quash, the person from whom discovery is sought must show that the
information sought is not reasonably accessible because of undue burden
or cost. If that showing is made, the chancery court may nonetheless order
discovery from such sources if the requesting party shows good cause,
considering the limitations of Rule 26(b)(2)(C). The chancery court may
specify conditions for the discovery.
(2) Claiming Privilege or Protection.
(A) Making a Claim. When information or material subject to a subpoena is withheld on a claim that it is privileged or subject to protection as
trial preparation materials, the claim shall be made expressly and shall be
supported by a description of the nature of the documents, communications, or things not produced that is sufficient to enable the demanding
party to contest the claim.
(B) Information Produced. If information is produced in response to a
subpoena that is subject to a claim of privilege or of protection as
trial-preparation material, the person making the claim may notify any
party that received the information of the claim and the basis for it. After
being notified, a party must promptly return, sequester, or destroy the
specified information and any copies it has and may not use or disclose the
information until the claim is resolved. A receiving party may promptly
present the information to the chancery court under seal for a determination of the claim. If the receiving party disclosed the information before
being notified, it must take reasonable steps to retrieve it. The person who
produced the information must preserve the information until the claim is
resolved.
(e) Contempt. Failure of any person without adequate excuse to obey a
subpoena served upon that person may be deemed a contempt of the chancery
court from which the subpoena issued. An adequate cause for failure to obey
exists when a subpoena purports to require a nonparty to attend or produce at
a place not within the limits provided by subparagraph (c)(3)(A)(ii).
History
History: Adopted September 21, 2021, effective December 1, 2021.
Provenance
- Source
- wyocourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-24
- Edition
- 2026-09-24
- Content hash
77c03c3520be6fa3e1ea6b31b20eccf306b80b0f7b724ae33fcc4a7be0df05ad
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