R. 4:104-3. — Depositions Upon Oral Examination

a. Unless otherwise stipulated by the parties or ordered by the court:

1. The number of depositions taken by plaintiffs shall be limited to 10. The number of depositions taken by defendants, including third-party defendants, shall also be limited to 10; and

2. Depositions shall be limited to 7 hours per deponent, excluding breaks. The court must allow additional time consistent with R. 4:10-2(a) and (g) if needed to fairly examine the deponent or if the deponent, another person, or any other circumstance impedes or delays the examination. When multiple parties intend to examine a deponent, they shall agree in advance of the deposition to an allocation of the time allowed for the deposition. If they cannot agree on such an allocation, they shall raise the issue with the court for resolution, and the deposition will be adjourned, if necessary, until after the court has resolved the dispute.

b. For purposes of assessing compliance with a limitation on the number of depositions, unless the parties stipulate or the court orders otherwise, every seven hours of testimony by witnesses testifying in response to a notice for the testimony of an organization under R. 4:14-2 shall constitute one deposition. For example, if an organization designates three individuals to testify in response to a R. 4:14-2 notice and the three individuals testify for a total of 14 hours, the deposition testimony shall count as two depositions. Alternatively, if two individuals are designated in response to a R. 4:14-2 notice and testify for a total of 21 hours, their testimony shall count as three depositions.

c. The court may impose an appropriate sanction - including the reasonable expenses and attorney’s fees incurred by any party - on a person who impedes, delays, or frustrates the fair examination of the deponent.