Subrogation & Recovery Law Blog : Insurance Subrogation Lawyer & Attorney : Cozen O'Connor Law Firm : Property Damage & Insurance Commentary

When to draft an expert report is an area of disagreement amongst subrogation professionals, attorneys and experts. Typically the attorney will request that an expert wait to draft a report until discovery is complete and the deadline to designate testifying experts is on the horizon. Conversely, most adjusters ask for a report as soon as possible in order to finalize the claim. Luckily, the recent changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure helps both the subrogation professional and adjuster achieve their goals.

In 2011, Rule 26(b)(4) (expert disclosures) was amended to “protect drafts of any report or disclosure required under Rule 26(a)(2), regardless of the form in which the draft is recorded.” Originally, drafts of an expert’s report were discoverable when the testifying expert was disclosed. The expert had one chance to draft a complete report. Any changes to the report that were suggested by counsel, however mundane, subjected the expert to a scathing cross-examination and an inference that the lawyer was telling the expert what to say. Now, all drafts are protected from disclosure by the work-product privilege. This permits the lawyer to work with the expert to craft a thorough report and avoid incomplete or lazy report writing that may provide opposing counsel the necessary ammunition to damage a case.

But the question is--what is a draft and what is a final report? Because the rule was only recently amended, the case law interpreting the rule has not yet developed. The only decision thus far is out of the Western District of Louisiana. Magistrate Judge Mark Hornsby denied the plaintiff’s request for a report that was drafted 5 months before counsel was retained and the lawsuit was filed. See Greenwood 950, LLC v. Chesapeake Louisiana, LP 2011 WL 1234735 (W.D. La). The opinion is unpublished and carries no precedential value, however, it may provide guidance to other district judges and magistrates that are confronted with this issue.

The Advisory Committee to the rule amendment noted that the work-product privilege was extended to draft reports because unlimited access to expert discovery has “had undesirable effects.” 2010 Notes of Advisory Committee ¶ 2. The Advisory Committee specifically noted that the changes to the rule were due to rising costs under the old rule and the old rule hindered the free exchange of information between the attorney and expert. Id. The notes from the Advisory Committee imply that the rule should be interpreted broadly. A court will likely consider whether the report was drafted in anticipation of litigation and when counsel was retained. Determining what is a draft report and what is a final report is yet to be settled, but we will be closely monitoring any new developments.

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It is as commonplace and disconcerting as ordering specialty food at a fast food restaurant and receiving what they commonly serve. You don't get what you want.

In litigation, product manufacturers, builders and providers of products and ideas are seldom producing background information on those items and ideas without first requiring that the requesting party execute a "confidentiality agreement" which cloaks not only the attorneys and parties, but their experts and consultants as well. These agreements are required as a pre-requisite to the production of any materials which the party required to produce claims is either trademark, proprietary, confidential or trade secret information.

Further, manufacturers and companies are withholding vital information until the requesting party either executes a confidentiality agreement or seeks an order from the Court compelling the production of this information.

In a recent unpublished* California Appeals Court Decision, the Court in Seahaus La Jolla Owners Association vs. Superior Court of San Diego County [San Diego County Superior Court 37-2009-00095253-CU-CD-CTL] [*unpublished decisions can neither be relied upon or cited, but serve as illustration of examining of legal issues] addressed the circumstance of a builder not providing testing data concerning construction materials to a Homeowner's Association which had sued for construction defect of a condominium project. The Appellate Court in examining the facts of the matter, deduced that the trial court owed a duty to formulate an appropriate protective order based upon the interests of the parties and that ordering a party to execute a confidentiality agreement was an abuse of the trial court's discretionary powers.

Hence, ultimately, the Court placed the burden on the party demanding the confidentiality order to establish the need and basis for that claim. Reviewing this decision, it would appear that this vision by the Court at the very least requires that the party seeking the claim of confidentiality must take the initiative by seeking a protective order or by providing evidence at a motion to compel, that the confidentiality claims are valid and supported by potential adverse consequences to the party seeking to protect the information.

While the opinion is unpublished and cannot serve as precedent in this area, it nonetheless demonstrates that product manufacturers, builders and providers of products cannot, without substantive proof, immediately assert and require that litigants execute confidentiality agreements as a precursor to obtaining discovery data. The ubiquitous nature of these agreements, which extend to cloak lawyers, agents, experts and consultants, have far-ranging and perpetual ramifications that affect all items produced in discovery and may ultimately prove to be unwarranted if challenged by Court review.
 

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As in the United States, experts in England and Wales often play a fundamental role in litigation. Their opinions influence whether a case is brought, case strategy and settlement decisions. Experts currently have limited immunity for claims of professional negligence. This immunity extends to evidence given by the expert in court and to work which is preliminary to giving such evidence. This immunity has applied even where an expert has been dishonest with the parties or the court. The rationale is that an expert witnesses should be free to give evidence in court without fear of being sued by a party whose case is lost.

This issue recently came under scrutiny in Jones v Kaney [2010] EWHC 61. The extent of immunity will be considered by the Supreme Court in January 2011, after permission was granted for a “leap-frog appeal”.

In Jones, Dr. Kaney was hired by the claimant, Mr. Jones, to prepare an expert medical report regarding personal injuries he suffered following a traffic accident. Dr. Kaney initially opined that Mr. Jones suffered from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The defendant’s expert disagreed, believing that Jones had exaggerated his physical symptoms. The experts later discussed the case and prepared a joint statement, signed by both experts, saying the claimant was deceitful. Although Dr. Kaney later tried to retract the statement, the court refused and the claim settled for a considerably smaller sum than originally sought. Jones then brought proceedings for negligence against Dr. Kaney, who sought to have the case struck out on grounds of her immunity from suit, applying the Court of Appeals’ decision in Stanton v Callaghan [1999] 2 WLR 745.

Mr. Jones argued that Stanton is no longer good law for two reasons: (1) the immunity can no longer survive in light of the House of Lords’ decision in Arthur Hall v Simons [2000] 3 WLR 543 (where a barrister’s immunity from suit was abolished); and (2) the expert witness immunity is inconsistent with Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to a fair trial.

The Judge found in Dr Kaney’s favour, considering himself bound by Stanton, but said:

“although I conclude that Stanton v Callaghan remains good law, I have doubts as to whether it will continue to remain so for the reasons canvassed by the Claimant…. I conclude that there is a substantial likelihood that on re-examination by a superior court, with the power to do so, it will emerge that public policy justification for the rule cannot support it”.

With permission for the appeal having been granted, there is a possibility that experts’ immunity will be severely curtailed, if not altogether abolished.
 

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In a case of first impression, the Pennsylvania Superior Court adopted the "bright line" rule, followed by a majority of jurisdictions, that all information considered by a testifying expert, including information typically protected under the attorney work-product privilege, is discoverable.In Barrick v Holy Spirit Hospital, No. 1856 MDA 2009 (Pa. Super. Sept.16, 2010), the court embraced the notion that once information is considered by an expert, it is fair grounds for full discovery and cannot be shielded.

In Barrick, a plaintiff sought discovery of letters and emails between the defendant's testifying expert and counsel that included trial strategies and tactics. Plaintiff Barrick was injured when a chair collapsed in the defendant's cafeteria. The plaintiff was treated by Dr. Green who was designated to testify as the defendant's expert. The plaintiff subpoenaed Dr. Green's records, but were furnished the treatment records only. The defendant refused to produce emails and letters exchanged between counsel and Dr. Green that included counsel's views concerning the expert's onions. The trial court ordered the production of all records, including communications between counsel and Dr. Green.

On appeal, the defendant argued that discovery permitted under the Pennsylvania rules does not include disclosure of mental impressions of a party's attorney or his or her conclusions, opinions, memoranda, notes or summaries, legal research or legal theories. Judge Olson, writing for the Superior Court majority, noted that the work product privilege protects certain disclosures, but that the privilege is not sacrosanct and may yield if the information sought becomes relevant to an issue in a lawsuit [page 12]. Judge Olson also noted that the permissible scope of expert discovery is broad and may conflict with other discovery rules. In reconciling the conflict, the court ruled "that if an expert witness is being called to advance a party's case-in-chief, the expert's opinion and testimony may be impacted by correspondence and communications with the party's counsel; therefore, the attorney's work-product doctrine must yield to discovery of those communications". [page 10] Judge Olson reasoned that a party is entitled to discover the extent of a lawyer's influence over an expert's opinions, to test the weight and veracity of the expert's conclusions, and to determine "whether counsel directed [the expert] to reach certain conclusions or to disregard certain facts or take other facts into consideration" [page 13]

While this ruling is consistent with extant federal case law [See e.g., Galvin v. Pepe, No. 09-cv-104, 2010 WL 3092640 (D.N.H. Aug. 5, 2010)], proposed amendments to FRCP Rule 26 would require production only of “facts or data” considered by a testifying expert. But the amendments would continue to allow discovery of communications between a lawyer and a testifying expert about: (1) the compensation for the expert’s study or testimony, (2) the facts or data provided by the lawyer that the expert considered in forming opinions, and (3) the assumptions provided by the lawyer that the expert relied upon to form an opinion. These amendments are scheduled to go into effect December 1, 2010.

This decision underscores the importance of managing information sent to any testifying expert. Many courts will continue to apply the "bright line" test, even if privileged documents are inadvertently disclosed to the expert [see e.g., MVB Mortgage Corp. v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., No. 08-771, 2010 WL 582641 (S.D. Ohio Feb. 11, 2010), where the court concluded that “once an expert sees information, even if it is the product of an inadvertent disclosure of something otherwise privileged, that information becomes part of the expert’s mental database, and the opposing party is entitled to test how, if at all, knowing that information may have influenced the expert’s opinion."] Subrogation practitioners should also consider that many states do not have rules that follow the amended federal rules, so the "bright line" test will likely remain in force and apply to all information sent to the expert.

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Subrogation professionals should be aware of a recent opinion in New York where computer fire modeling utilized by the defendant's expert was held to be inadmissible.   In Santos v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., No. 000790/07 (N.Y.Sup. Ct. Jun. 28, 2010), a trial court held that the defendant had not presented sufficient evidence that computer fire modeling was generally accepted as reliable in the fire investigation community. 

In larger fire losses, computer fire modeling can be a useful tool that fire experts use to assist in evaluating hypotheses related to fire origin and fire spread.  Fire modeling is also used for illustrative purposes, such as presenting an origin and cause investigator's opinions to a jury.  Although they can be helpful, fire models have their limitations.  NFPA 921, the recognized guide for fire investigations, cautions: "[t]o conduct valid modeling and testing it is important that the investigator gather data that is as accurate and complete as possible."  Fire models are generally only as good as the accuracy of the data that is used in the model. 

The Santos decision is surprising in light of the fact that several federal courts have held that fire modeling is reliable.  For an expert opinion to be admissible in federal court, the opinion must pass the rigors of the Daubert standard.  In federal court, expert testimony must be both relevant and reliable, which entails a preliminary assessment of whether the reasoning or methodology underlying the testimony is scientifically valid and can be applied to the facts at issue. 

In state courts in New York, expert opinions must pass the Frye test, which is viewed as a more liberal standard than Daubert.  Under the Frye test, expert testimony based on scientific principles or procedures is admissible only if a principle or procedure has gained general acceptance in its specified field.  Here, the court found that the defendant only presented evidence that computer fire modeling was generally accepted in the regulatory and design community, but failed to meet the burden of demonstrating that modeling is generally accepted in the fire investigation community. 

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