[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 49, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 49CFR9.9]

[Page 80-81]
 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
          Subtitle A--Office of the Secretary of Transportation
 
PART 9_TESTIMONY OF EMPLOYEES OF THE DEPARTMENT AND PRODUCTION OF RECORDS 
IN LEGAL PROCEEDINGS--Table of Contents
 
Sec.  9.9  Legal proceedings between private litigants: General rules.

    In legal proceedings between private litigants:
    (a) The proper method for obtaining testimony or records from an 
employee is to submit a request to agency counsel as provided in 
Sec. Sec.  9.13 and 9.15 of this part, not to serve a demand on the 
employee. Whenever, in a legal proceeding between private litigants, an 
employee is served with a demand, or receives a request, to testify in 
that employee's official capacity or produce records, the employee shall 
immediately notify agency counsel.
    (b) If authorized to testify pursuant to these rules, an employee 
may testify only as to facts within that employee's personal knowledge 
with regard to matters arising out of his or her official duties.
    (1) When the proceeding arises from an accident, an employee may 
testify only as to personally known facts, not reasonably available from 
other sources, observed by the employee or uncovered during the 
employee's investigation of the accident or observed by the employee 
even if he or she did not

[[Page 81]]

investigate the accident. The employee shall decline to testify 
regarding facts beyond the scope of his or her official duties.
    (2) The employee shall not testify to facts that are contained in a 
report, or any part of a report, unless the employee has obtained 
permission from agency counsel to disclose the information.
    (3) The employee shall not disclose confidential or privileged 
information unless the employee has obtained permission from agency 
counsel to disclose the information.
    (4) The employee shall not testify as to facts when agency counsel 
determines that the testimony would not be in the best interest of the 
Department or the United States if disclosed.
    (c) An employee shall not testify as an expert or opinion witness 
with regard to any matter arising out of the employee's official duties 
or the functions of the Department. An employee who is asked questions 
that call for expert or opinion testimony shall decline to answer on the 
grounds that it is forbidden by this part. Agency counsel shall advise 
the employee on how to proceed if the presiding officer directs the 
employee to provide expert or opinion testimony.
    (d) An employee shall not provide testimony at a trial or hearing. 
An employee's testimony shall be limited to a single deposition, 
affidavit, or set of interrogatories, concerning the circumstances (e.g. 
an accident) from which the proceeding arose. Where multiple legal 
proceedings concerning those circumstances are pending, or can occur, it 
shall be the duty of the private litigant seeking the testimony to 
ascertain, to the extent feasible, the identities of all parties, or 
potential parties, to those proceedings and notify them that a 
deposition has been granted and that they have the opportunity to 
participate. The private litigant shall submit an affidavit or 
certification describing the extent of the search for parties and 
potential parties and listing the names of the parties and potential 
parties notified.
    (e) Where an employee has already provided testimony, any party 
wishing to obtain further testimony from that employee concerning the 
same matter or occurrence, whether in the same or a different private 
legal proceeding, may submit a request to agency counsel to waive the 
restrictions of paragraph (d) of this section. The request shall, in 
addition to meeting the requirements of Sec.  9.15 of this part, state 
why the requester should be permitted to gather additional information 
despite not having previously requested the information when it had an 
opportunity to do so, and why the additional testimony is now required 
and the prior testimony or previously supplied documents are 
insufficient.