Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Insufficiently Detailed 26(a)(2)(C) Expert Disclosures

Sapienza v. U.S. Dep’t of Veterans Affairs, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75928 (E.D.N.Y. May 31, 2012):

The defendant ... argues that even if the doctors are permitted to provide expert testimony without providing a report under 26(a)(2)(B), the summary that the plaintiff provided under Rule 26(a)(2)(C) is insufficient. Specifically, the defendant argues that the summary is devoid of facts supporting the doctor's opinions. Although courts are to take care in requiring undue detail, the Rule does mandate the disclosure of the facts supporting the expert opinions to be offered by the witness. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(C) advisory committee's note. Here, the court agrees that the summaries are insufficient. For example, the summary of Dr. Colantonio refers to "numerous operations" that were performed rather than specifying the nature of each of the operations. Similarly, the summary does not make clear whether the doctor's conclusion that "the perforation and deadly infection were caused by negligence" was based only on the minimal facts included in the summary. Dr. Anghel's summary contains no facts supporting her opinion that the seriousness of the infection was caused by the defendant's negligence. Accordingly, if the plaintiff intends to have Drs. Colantonio and Anghel offer their expert opinions as to causation and the plaintiff's prognosis, the plaintiff must provide the defendants with revised summaries by June 15, 2012.

Share this article:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email

Recent Posts

(1) Appellate Review of Inherent Power Sanctions (7th Circuit): Factual Findings Reviewed for Clear Error, Choice of Sanction for Abuse of Discretion — 4-Element Test for Reversal; (2) Sanctions and Class Actions: Monetary Sanctions Properly Imposed on Defendants for Improper Communications with Class Members (Represented Parties) — “[I]f The Class And The Class Opponent Are Involved In An Ongoing Business Relationship, Communications From The Class Opponent To The Class May Be Coercive” (Good Quote); (3) Monetary Sanctions under Goodyear v. Haeger: If Same Fact-Gathering Would Have Been Conducted Absent The Misconduct, No But-For Causation — But Only “Rough Justice” Required, “Not Accountant-Like Precision” (Good Quote) — Once Misconduct Is Clear, Time Spent Ferreting It Out Compensable under Goodyear; (4) Goodyear Did Not Overrule Long-Standing Rule That Courts May Impose Modest Civil Monetary Sanctions to Curb Litigation Abuse; (5) Appellate Jurisdiction Lacking Where Sanctioned Attorney Fails to File Notice of Appeal and Lawyer’s Intent to Appeal Not Apparent from Client’s Notice; (5) Rule 11 Improper Purpose — Party May Have Many Purposes for Pursuing Claim — As Long As Claim Is Supported by Good Faith Belief in the Merits, “A Parallel Reason Does Not Violate Rule 11” — To Deny A Motion for Sanctions, The District Court Need Not Address Every Argument: “Arguments Clearly Without Merit Can, And For The Sake Of Judicial Economy Should, Be Passed Over In Silence” (Good Quote); Non-Monetary Sanction on Counsel: Complete Twice The Required Amount Of Professional Responsibility Hours For Her Next Continuing Legal Education Cycle Imposed By The State Bar

Archives