Can a defendant in a civil action be transported to court to testify?

1. Appellants complain the trial court improperly refused to order incarcerated defendants to be transported to court to testify, which supposedly prevented the defense from rebutting plaintiff's evidence and presenting affirmative defenses. They cite authority that an indigent prisoner who is a defendant in a civil action threatening his personal interests has a federal and state constitutional right, as a matter of due process and equal protection, to meaningful access to the courts in order to present a defense. (Payne v. Superior Court (1976) 17 Cal.3d 908, 913-919, 132 Cal.Rptr. 405, 553 P.2d 565.)