Montana Subpoena
Montana names a daily witness fee of $10 but refuses to name a mileage rate. It pegs mileage to the IRS allotment for the current year, so the Montana figure moves every January. Attorney review available.
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Introduction
Montana writes a mechanism into its witness statute instead of a second number. Mont. Code Ann. Section 26-2-501(1)(a) fixes the daily fee at $10 for attending any civil or criminal action or proceeding before a court of record, referee, officer authorized to take depositions, or commissioners to assess damages. Then subsection (1)(b) stops short of a cents figure and grants, for each mile each way in traveling to the place of trial or hearing, a mileage allowance as provided in Section 2-18-503. That statute entitles witnesses, as persons other than state officers or employees, to collect mileage at a rate equal to the mileage allotment allowed by the United States Internal Revenue Service for the current year, which means the Montana number changes every January without the legislature touching Section 26-2-501. Two more features are peculiar to Montana. Rule 45 itself imposes a records duty: under Mont. R. Civ. P. 45(a)(4) a party or attorney responsible for issuing and serving a subpoena seeking health care information, as defined by Title 50, chapter 16, shall comply with the provisions of Title 50, chapter 16. And Montana splits the subpoena's reach by purpose. Rule 45(c)(2)(A) lets a hearing or trial subpoena be served anywhere in the state and compel appearance irrespective of residence, employment or where the person transacts business, while Rule 45(c)(2)(B) caps a deposition or records subpoena at 100 miles. DocDraft builds your Montana subpoena from your own facts, with attorney review available before service.
Key Things to Know
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A Montana subpoena is a command issued in a pending Montana action under Mont. R. Civ. P. 45, published inside the Montana Code Annotated at Title 25, chapter 20, requiring a named person to attend and testify, to produce documents, electronically stored information or tangible things, or to permit inspection of premises.
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The Montana witness fee is $10 for each day of attending in any civil or criminal action or proceeding before a court of record, referee, officer authorized to take depositions, or commissioners to assess damages (Mont. Code Ann. Section 26-2-501(1)(a)).
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Montana does not legislate a cents-per-mile figure for witnesses. Mileage runs each way, for each mile, at the allotment allowed by the United States Internal Revenue Service for the current year (Mont. Code Ann. Sections 26-2-501(1)(b) and 2-18-503(3)).
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Every Montana subpoena must set out the text of Rule 45(d) and (e) on its face, alongside the issuing court, the title of the action, the court where it is pending and its cause number (Mont. R. Civ. P. 45(a)(1)).
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A party or attorney who issues and serves a Montana subpoena seeking health care information, as defined by Title 50, chapter 16, must comply with the provisions of Title 50, chapter 16 (Mont. R. Civ. P. 45(a)(4)).
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Notice must reach all parties no less than 10 days before the commanded production or inspection before trial, served in the manner Rule 5(b) prescribes (Mont. R. Civ. P. 45(c)(1)).
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A Montana hearing or trial subpoena may be served anywhere in the state and compels appearance irrespective of residence or place of business, while a deposition or records subpoena is bounded at 100 miles under Montana's own rule (Mont. R. Civ. P. 45(c)(2)).
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Subpoena in Montana, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Subpoena guide walks through them.
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Montana Requirements for Subpoena
Witness Fee of $10 for Each Day
Montana pays $10 for each day of attending in any civil or criminal action or proceeding before a court of record, referee, officer authorized to take depositions, or commissioners to assess damages (Mont. Code Ann. Section 26-2-501(1)(a)).
Mileage Pegged to the Current IRS Allotment
Montana names no cents figure. Mileage runs each way, for each mile, at a rate equal to the mileage allotment allowed by the United States Internal Revenue Service for the current year (Mont. Code Ann. Sections 26-2-501(1)(b) and 2-18-503(3)). Air travel in the witness's own airplane pays twice that allotment for nautical air miles actually traveled.
Rule 45(d) and (e) Text Must Appear on the Subpoena
Every Montana subpoena must state the issuing court, the title of the action, the court where it is pending and its cause number, the command itself, and must set out the text of Rule 45(d) and (e). A deposition subpoena must also state the recording method (Mont. R. Civ. P. 45(a)(1)).
Health Care Information Compliance Duty
A party or attorney responsible for issuing and serving a Montana subpoena seeking health care information, as defined by Title 50, chapter 16, must comply with the provisions of Title 50, chapter 16 (Mont. R. Civ. P. 45(a)(4)). This duty sits inside the Montana rule and has no federal counterpart, so review Title 50, chapter 16 before serving a custodian.
Clerk Issues Blank, or an Attorney as Officer
The clerk must issue a subpoena signed but otherwise in blank to a requesting party, who completes it before service. An attorney may also issue and sign one as an officer of a court where the attorney is authorized to practice, or of a court for the district of a deposition or production if authorized in the court where the action is pending (Mont. R. Civ. P. 45(a)(3)).
Ten Days Notice, Fourteen Days to Object
Notice must reach all parties no less than 10 days before the commanded production or inspection before trial, served under Rule 5(b) (Mont. R. Civ. P. 45(c)(1)). The recipient's written objection must be served before the earlier of the stated compliance time or 14 days after service (Rule 45(d)(2)(B)).
Trial Reaches Statewide, Depositions Stop at 100 Miles
A hearing or trial subpoena may be served anywhere in Montana and compels appearance irrespective of residence, employment or place of business. A subpoena for documentary evidence or a deposition is confined to a place within the state and to 100 miles of where the person resides, is employed or transacts business, or of an entity's principal location (Mont. R. Civ. P. 45(c)(2)). This 100-mile limit is Montana's own rule, not the federal one.
Contempt, and the Non-Party Distance Excuse
The issuing court may hold in contempt a person who, having been served, fails without adequate excuse to obey. A non-party's failure to obey must be excused if the subpoena purports to require attendance or production outside the Rule 45(d)(3)(A)(ii) limits (Mont. R. Civ. P. 45(f)). The court must also sanction an issuer who imposes undue burden or expense, including lost earnings and reasonable attorney fees (Rule 45(d)(1)).