Brown v. Lance Ringstad & Central Installation Co.

142 F.R.D. 461, 24 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 247, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16540, 1992 WL 150967
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Iowa
DecidedJune 17, 1992
DocketNo. 4-89-CV-20865
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 142 F.R.D. 461 (Brown v. Lance Ringstad & Central Installation Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brown v. Lance Ringstad & Central Installation Co., 142 F.R.D. 461, 24 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 247, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16540, 1992 WL 150967 (S.D. Iowa 1992).

Opinion

ORDER

MARK W. BENNETT, United States Magistrate Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION.

This matter is before the court pursuant to Defendants’ Motion to Quash Notice of Videotape Deposition of Dr. Doro and Brief in Support of Motion to Quash Videotape Deposition of Dr. Doro filed on May 28, 1992. The Plaintiff filed her Resistance to Motion to Quash Notice of Videotape Deposition of Dr. Doro on June 9, 1992.

The issue presented by these motions is whether a party may depose an opposing party’s expert medical witness who has conducted a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 35(a) physical examination, but which the opposing party has determined not to call as a witness at trial. The court concludes that such discovery is precluded by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(4)(B).

A hearing on these motions was held on June 10, 1992. Gregory W. Landry of La-Marca & Landry, P.C. appeared on behalf of the Plaintiff. Iris J. Post of Grefe & Sidney appeared on behalf of the Defendants.

Pursuant to paragraph 10 of the Supplemental Order on Final Pretrial Conference filed on March 23, 1992, the undersigned granted the Defendants the opportunity to conduct a medical examination of the Plaintiff pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 35. The following facts are not disputed by the parties. The medical examination of Plaintiff was conducted by Joseph M. Doro, D.O., on April 21, 1992. Subsequently, the Plaintiff received a copy of Dr. Doro’s report of the April 21, 1992, examination through a medical examination request to Dr. Adelman, an associate of Dr. Doro’s at Neurological Associates of Des Moines, P.C.1 The Defendants notified Plaintiff’s counsel by letter dated May 6, 1992, that they would not be using Dr. Doro as an expert witness by deposition or at trial. On May 14, 1992, the Defendants were served with a Notice of Videotape Deposition of Dr. Doro.

II. ANALYSIS.

The Defendants have moved to quash the notice of the videotape deposition of Dr. Doro on the grounds that the Plaintiff has failed to make a proper showing pursuant to Fed.R. Civ.P. 26(b)(4)(B).

Rule 26(b)(4)(B) provides as follows:
A party may discover facts known or opinions held by an expert who has been retained or specially employed by another party in anticipation of litigation or preparation for trial and who is not expected to be called as a witness at trial, only as provided in Rule 35(b) or upon a showing of exceptional circumstances under which it is impracticable for the parties seeking discovery to obtain facts or [463]*463opinions on the same subject by other means.

Rule 35(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that a court may enter an order requiring a party to submit to a physical or mental examination by a suitably licensed or certified examiner “only on motion for good cause shown and upon notice to the person to be examined____” Subsection (b) of Rule 35 requires the party requesting the examination to deliver to the adverse party, if requested, a written report of the examiner setting out the examiner’s findings, including results of all tests made, diagnosis and conclusions. There is no contention that plaintiff did not receive these materials.

Rule 35(b)(3) states that the rule does not “preclude ... deposition of an examiner in accordance with the provisions of any other rule.” The court concludes that such a deposition can be taken only when the party which requested the examination intends to use the examiner as a witness at trial,2 or “upon a showing of exceptional circumstances under which it is impractical for the party seeking discovery to obtain facts and opinions on the same subject by other means.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(4)(B).

The Plaintiff does not allege such exceptional circumstances exist here. Therefore, if Rule 26(b)(4)(B) applies, Plaintiff may not take Dr. Doro’s deposition. Moreover, a party seeking disclosure under Rule 26(b)(4)(B) carries a heavy burden in demonstrating the existence of exceptional circumstances. Ager v. Jane C. Stormont Hospital & Training, Etc., 622 F.2d 496, 503 (10th Cir.1980); Hover v. United States Dept. of Interior, 611 F.2d 1132, 1142 n. 13 (5th Cir.1980).

The interplay between Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 35(b) and 26(b)(4)(B) has rarely been addressed by the courts. Indeed, neither party cited a case directly on point regarding the question of whether or not the opposing party may engage in further discovery of the examiner following a Rule 35 examination when the party who sought the examination elects not to call the examiner as a witness at trial.3 Indeed, there are few decisions which discuss the more general question of Rule 26(b)(4)(B)’s prohibition on the discoverability of non-testifying experts.

In a recent decision from a district court in our circuit, the court noted that “[ojnly two decisions within the Eighth Circuit have addressed Rule 26(b)(4)(B) and both decisions prohibited the discoverability of non-testifying experts.” State Auto Ins. Companies v. Briley, 140 F.R.D 394, 396-397 (E.D.Mo.1992).4 Both of these decisions arise in the context of attempting to discover the identity, (which is not specifically precluded by the express language of Rule 26(b)(4)(B)) rather than the facts known or opinions held by retained, non-testifying experts. The first decision is Kuster v. Hamer, 109 F.R.D. 372 (D.Minn. 1986). In Kuster, the court carefully examined Fed.R.Civ.P. 26, including the Advisory Committee Note, and concluded that:

subdivision (b)(4)(B)’s restriction on discovery of non-testifying experts consti[464]*464tutes a specific limitation upon the general rule of discovery found in subdivision (b)(1).

Kuster, 109 F.R.D. at 374. Based upon this limitation, the court in Kuster held:

Therefore, the court holds that the “proper showing” required to compel discovery of a non-testifying expert retained or specially employed in anticipation of litigation corresponds to a showing of “exceptional circumstances under which it is impracticable for the parties seeking discovery to obtain facts on the same subject by other means.” (citations omitted.)

Id. at 375.

The second decision referred to in Briley is Cox v. Piper, Jaffray & Hopwood, Inc., 848 F.2d 842 (8th Cir.1988). In Cox, Judge C.

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142 F.R.D. 461, 24 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 247, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16540, 1992 WL 150967, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brown-v-lance-ringstad-central-installation-co-iasd-1992.