Legal Question in Business Law in California

Is it common or may it be strategically beneficial that an Expert be less prepared at deposition and more prepared at trial? 2 of my experts stated in deposition that they had not received or read documents which supported their opinions. They also seemed to ramble and meander about their opinions. After deposition they promised me they would review the documents.

Asked on 7/19/14, 9:22 am

3 Answers from Attorneys

Joel Selik www.SelikLaw.com

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No. Any opinions formed after deposition may be excluded at trial.

Answered on 7/19/14, 9:27 am

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Robert F. Cohen Law Office of Robert F. Cohen

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Usually one of the deposition questions is, "have you provided me with all of your opinions to which you will testify at trial?" The expert might also be asked if he/she expects to review any other materials before trial. This closes the door on bringing up new stuff at trial. One radical thing one might try to do is withdraw the expert's designation and see if he/she could be replaced. But that might take some major effort. Also, one might threaten the expert by withholding fees for not being prepared for deposition, which is implicit in the agreement to provide expert opinion. I would be concerned that if the expert's testimony were meandering in a controlled deposition situation where the questions generally are predictable, how would the expert appear to a jury?

Answered on 7/19/14, 9:36 am

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