Many years ago, the service I was working for was requested to prepare some subpoenas for trial. The case involved several cars that were involved in an accident along one of the major streets going through West Los Angeles into Santa Monica. Amongst the many subpoenas issued for numerous medical records and X-rays of the accident participants were some that were not asking for records, but fell under the “things” portion of the “records and things” as requested by the subpoena.

The first subpoena was issued to a local car rental agency for the left rear tire of one of their cars that was involved in the accident. Although it had been many months since the accident, it was determined that the tires that were on the car at the time of the accident were, in fact, still on the car. The damage to the car primarily involved bodywork and the car had not been out of circulation too long. It had been rented out since the accident and undergone its usual maintenance and safety checks. After a couple of days, a response was sent to the issuing attorney advising that due to the fact that when the car undergoes its maintenance, the tires are rotated. They realized that more than one method was utilized in selecting the order of rotation for the tires and therefore it could no longer be determined which was the left rear tire at the time of the accident.

The second subpoena was issued to the City of Santa Monica for the ‘personal appearance’ of a particular palm tree that was struck by cars involved in the accident.  The City in response advised that it would not dig up a tree to produce it at the Trial. It was pointed out that it was impractical to dig up a tree for a Court case, let alone expect it to be delivered to the Courtroom. In the end, it was determined that notarized pictures of the tree would instead suffice.

As you can see, some people can be quite creative in what they request through subpoenas. Neither of these two produced the desired results, but heck, I’m still talking about them some 20 years later.

EZ Subpoena was created for you because we saw significant result differences between a successfully prepared subpoena and one with issues. The vast majority of incidents and problems that occur (in attempts to obtain records or depose a witness) happen somewhere during the preparation of the documents. For instance, maybe something is omitted or misspelled in the paperwork, or the forms used are not the right ones. Maybe it’s as simple as having a document addressed to the wrong place and nobody finds out until the records are already past due. EZ Subpoena is the only subpoena preparation program of its kind available to address these issues.           

Throughout their combined 50 years in the litigation copying industry, the founders have handled, in one way one another, preparing, serving, copying, delivering or advising about over one million subpoenas. This experience has taught them that if a subpoena is prepared accurately (as both the law and location expect) and served to the correct place, the likelihood of obtaining the desired results is very good. If, however, a small error or misunderstanding occurs at the beginning, it can be greatly magnified throughout the process, often requiring the subpoena to be re-issued.  We created a system that not only alleviates these problems by simplifying the process for the operator, but it becomes easier to use over time. The system is designed to help you by saving all information input and by providing a database with over 100,000 facilities ready for your selection. One of the founders is a California State Bar certified MCLE Instructor and is available to help teach you, and other members of your firm, the best way to obtain records for use in discovery.

We realize that the legal industry puts huge demands upon those within it, both with the obvious regulations that must be followed, and also a calendar that puts a burden upon those that have to juggle a multitude of different cases at the same time.  We have developed a system that we know will be of great benefit to you, and a regular asset at your disposal. We understand how many tasks are entrusted to you, and at times how little time you are expected to accomplish them. To find any tool that will help you successfully save time on a regular basis is a benefit. We have solved problems that you may currently experience with your current preparation methods, but if you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know. We will answer all inquiries and, if at any time that you need help in any aspect of your subpoena, please do not hesitate to contact us.  Thank you, and best wishes!