Ex parte Hankook Tire America Corporation and Hankook Tire & Technology Co., Ltd., f/k/a Hankook Tire Manufacturing…

Summary

The Supreme Court of Alabama granted Hankook's consolidated petitions for writs of mandamus and directed the trial court to vacate both its discovery-sanctions order and its $66,550 attorney-fee award. The court held that mandamus review was available because the sanctions order struck affirmative defenses, but that Rule 37(d) did not authorize sanctions where Hankook's corporate representative appeared and answered questions, even if his testimony was incomplete or evasive. Any relief for deficient deposition testimony or counsel interference had to proceed through the Rule 37(a) motion-to-compel process.