Code of Civil Procedure § 2034.280 – Sanctions for Failure to Exchange Expert Witness Information
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Code of Civil Procedure § 2034.280 – Sanctions for Failure to Exchange Expert Witness Information
Code of Civil Procedure – CCP
PART 4. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS [1855 – 2107]
( Heading of Part 4 amended by Stats. 1965, Ch. 299. )TITLE 4. CIVIL DISCOVERY ACT [2016.010 – 2036.050]
( Title 4 added by Stats. 2004, Ch. 182, Sec. 23. )CHAPTER 18. Simultaneous Exchange of Expert Witness Information [2034.010 – 2034.730]
( Chapter 18 added by Stats. 2004, Ch. 182, Sec. 23. )ARTICLE 2. Demand for Exchange of Expert Witness Information [2034.210 – 2034.310]
( Article 2 added by Stats. 2004, Ch. 182, Sec. 23. )California Law
2034.280.
(a) Within 20 days after the exchange described in Section 2034.260, any party who engaged in the exchange may submit a supplemental expert witness list containing the name and address of any experts who will express an opinion on a subject to be covered by an expert designated by an adverse party to the exchange, if the party supplementing an expert witness list has not previously retained an expert to testify on that subject.
(b) This supplemental list shall be accompanied by an expert witness declaration under subdivision (c) of Section 2034.260 concerning those additional experts, and by all discoverable reports and writings, if any, made by those additional experts.
(c) The party shall also make those experts available immediately for a deposition under Article 3 (commencing with Section 2034.410), which deposition may be taken even though the time limit for discovery under Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 2024.010) has expired.
(Added by Stats. 2004, Ch. 182, Sec. 23. Effective January 1, 2005. Operative July 1, 2005, by Sec. 64 of Ch. 182.)
California Law Summary
This statute governs the consequences of failing to timely and properly disclose expert witnesses. It provides that:
A party who fails to comply with expert witness disclosure requirements (under §§ 2034.210–2034.260) may not call that expert to testify at trial,
Unless the court determines that the noncompliance was due to mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect, and no unfair prejudice will result.
Purpose
To enforce fairness and procedural discipline in the expert witness disclosure process. This statute incentivizes timely and complete disclosures and protects opposing parties from surprise or prejudice caused by last-minute or incomplete expert designations.
Application
This provision applies when a party:
Fails to disclose an expert,
Omits required information in the expert list or declaration, or
Misses the deadline for disclosure.
Unless good cause is shown and the opposing party is not prejudiced, the court may exclude the expert from testifying at trial. This rule applies equally to retained and non-retained experts designated under the Code.
