City of Buffalo v. Hanna Furnace Corp.

The issue here presented is whether an officer or agent of the state or of a state agency may be examined as a witness before trial, under the conditions specified in section 288 of the Civil Practice Act, in an action to which neither state, state agency nor such officer or agent is a party. Both courts below — with one justice dissenting in the Appellate Division — have concluded that the statute affords no authority for such examination.

Section 288, besides permitting the pretrial examination of any party at the instance of any other party, provides for the taking of the testimony before…