Defendants Stuart Bentham and Michael Cecil have filed a motion to compel the depositions of three alleged directors, officers, or managing agents of plaintiff Afghan Wireless Communications Company (“AWCC”), as representatives of the Afghanistan-based corporation. Plaintiffs Telephone Systems International, Inc. and AWCC assert that these three individuals, Abdul Rahim Saidjan, Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, and Sami Wali, are not currently members of AWCC’s Board of Directors, and that they bear no other relationship to the corporation that would require their production. For the reasons discussed below, defendants’ application is DENIED.
Rule 30(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure permits a party to compel the deposition of a specific officer, director, or managing agent of a corporation by a notice of deposition. Dubai Islamic Bank v. Citibank, N.A., 99 Civ. 1930, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9794, 5-6 (S.D.N.Y. May 28, 2002). See generally 8A Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller, Richard L. Marcus, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2103 (2d ed. 1994). Defendants Bentham and Cecil claim that Saidjan and Wali are current members of the Board of Directors, Memorandum of Law in Support of Cecil and Bentham’s Motion to Compel (“Defendants’ Mem. of Law”) at 7, or in the alternative, that they are managing agents of AWCC, and thus are subject to deposition by notice. Reply Memorandum of Law in Further Support of Cecil and Bentham’s Motion to Compel (“Defendants’ Reply Mem. of Law”) at 5. As evidence of Saidjan and Wali’s status as directors, defendants assert that these individuals attended various board meetings up to 2002, see Defendants’ Mem. of Law at 8, and that they told defendant Bentham in 2003 that they were still directors. See Affidavit of Stuart Bentham at 3. Plaintiffs state, however, that a new roster of board members was elected in May 2003 that does not include any of the three disputed individuals. See Plaintiffs’ Memorandum of Law in Opposition to Defendants’ Motion to Compel (“Plaintiffs’ Mem. of Law”) at 3-4; Declaration of Amin Ramin at 3, Exh. A. On the basis of an affidavit by Abdul Rahman Rahimghiyasa, an attorney authorized to practice law in Afghanistan, defendants Bentham and Cecil counter that this May 2003 election of new board members was illegal under Afghan law, and that Saidjan and Wali remain directors of the board. See Reply Affirmation of Abdul Rahman Rahimghiyasa at 3-4. The Court finds that the opinion expressed in Rahimghiyasa’s affidavit is not sufficient to establish Afghan law on the subject of whether these individuals are board members.
