Drew v. Lee

2011 UT 15, 250 P.3d 48
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 15, 2011
Docket20080798
StatusPublished

This text of 2011 UT 15 (Drew v. Lee) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Drew v. Lee, 2011 UT 15, 250 P.3d 48 (Utah 2011).

Opinion

250 P.3d 48 (2011)
2011 UT 15

R. Alan DREW, Plaintiff and Petitioner,
v.
Tonia Mann LEE, Defendant and Respondent.

No. 20080798.

Supreme Court of Utah.

March 15, 2011.

*49 Roger W. Griffin, Sandy, for plaintiff.

Peter H. Christensen, Ryan P. Atkinson, Salt Lake City, for defendant.

Ryan M. Springer, Salt Lake City, for amicus curiae Utah Association for Justice.

Justice NEHRING, opinion of the Court:

INTRODUCTION

¶ 1 In this appeal, we determine whether Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3)(B) requires parties to file a written expert report from treating physicians who plan to testify at trial. We hold that rule 26(a)(3)(B) requires parties to produce a written report only from experts who are "retained or specially employed" to testify and that treating physicians do not fall into this category. We therefore reverse the district court's decision and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2 In October 2005, Richard Drew and Tonia Lee were involved in an automobile accident. During the collision, Mr. Drew was thrown from his motorcycle and landed on his head. He was immediately rushed to the emergency room at Alta View Hospital for treatment. As time passed, Mr. Drew continued to experience pain and discomfort from the accident and visited a handful of medical providers for further care.

¶ 3 In August 2006, Mr. Drew filed a complaint against Ms. Lee for damages related to the collision. As part of the discovery process, Mr. Drew identified his treating medical providers ("treating physicians") as required by Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3)(A) as expert witnesses who may be called to testify at trial.[1] Although Mr. Drew identified his experts, he did not produce any written expert reports as required by Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3)(B).[2]

¶ 4 In response, Ms. Lee filed a motion in limine to exclude the expert testimony. Ms. *50 Lee objected to the proposed expert testimony because Mr. Drew's treating physicians planned to opine on causation and prognosis—issues Ms. Lee considered to be beyond the scope of care and treatment. According to Ms. Lee, if Mr. Drew wanted to move forward with this testimony, he was required to produce and provide written expert reports as required by Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3)(B).

¶ 5 The district court granted Ms. Lee's motion in limine. The district court concluded that because Mr. Drew's treating physicians intended to testify about the cause of Mr. Drew's injuries and his future prognosis, Mr. Drew was required to provide expert reports under rule 26(a)(3)(B). Relying on Pete v. Youngblood,[3] the district court reasoned that if a treating physician's testimony goes beyond the scope of mere diagnosis and treatment of the patient, then the physician becomes a "retained expert" and the party must comply with both subsection (a)(3)(A) by identifying the expert, and with subsection (a)(3)(B) by filing an expert report. Because Mr. Drew failed to produce written expert reports, the district court held that his treating physicians could not testify as to causation and future prognosis at trial.

¶ 6 Mr. Drew filed this interlocutory appeal, which we granted. On appeal, Mr. Drew argues that treating physicians are exempt from the written report requirement in rule 26(a)(3)(B) because treating physicians are not "retained" experts or "specially employed" by parties to testify at trial.[4] We have jurisdiction under Utah Code section 78A-3-102(3)(j) (Supp.2010).

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 7 "[T]he interpretation of a rule of procedure is a question of law that we review for correctness."[5]

ANALYSIS

¶ 8 Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 26 outlines the requirements for parties who seek to admit expert testimony at trial. Under rule 26(a)(3)(A), "[a] party shall disclose to other parties the identity of any person who may be used at trial to present evidence under [r]ules 702, 703, or 705 of the Utah Rules of Evidence."[6] Rules 702, 703, and 705 "relate to testimony by experts, the bases of opinion testimony by experts, and the disclosure of facts or data underlying expert opinion, respectively."[7] Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3)(B) establishes an additional requirement for some types of experts. Under this rule:

Unless otherwise stipulated by the parties or ordered by the court, [a party's expert] disclosure shall, with respect to a witness who is retained or specially employed to provide expert testimony in the case[,] . . . be accompanied by a written report prepared and signed by the witness or party.[8]

¶ 9 In this case, we must determine what it means to be "retained or specially employed to provide expert testimony" such that the written report requirement in rule 26(a)(3)(B) applies.

¶ 10 Ms. Lee asks us to uphold the district court's decision because she claims that under rule 26(a)(3)(B), treating physicians who intend to testify on matters beyond personal *51 observations made during the course of the patient's care and treatment, must file expert reports. In support of her argument, Ms. Lee relies heavily on the court of appeals' decision in Pete v. Youngblood.[9] Ms. Lee argues that under Youngblood, district courts should focus on the substance of the expert testimony rather than the status of the expert as a treating physician to determine whether the expert was "retained or specially employed to provide expert testimony" at trial.

¶ 11 But according to Mr. Drew, rule 26(a)(3)(B) does not require him to produce written expert reports from his treating physicians because Mr. Drew did not "retain[] or specially employ[]" them to testify as experts at trial. Rather, Mr. Drew argues that because his experts are treating physicians, rule 26(a)(3)(B) is inapplicable and that the only applicable rule is 26(a)(3)(A), which simply requires him to identify who his experts will be. Mr. Drew argues that this approach is most consistent with the plain language of rule 26 and the court of appeals' ultimate holding in Youngblood. Because Mr. Drew identified his experts under rule 26(a)(3)(A), he argues the district court erred when it granted Ms. Lee's motion in limine.

¶ 12 We agree with Mr. Drew. We begin by briefly discussing Youngblood, the central case the district court relied on in its decision. We then turn to the plain language and purpose of rule 26 to ultimately resolve the issue presented to us on appeal.

I. PETE V. YOUNGBLOOD DOES NOT REQUIRE PARTIES TO PRODUCE EXPERT REPORTS FROM TREATING PHYSICIANS NOT "SPECIALLY RETAINED" OR "EMPLOYED TO TESTIFY" AT TRIAL

¶ 13 On appeal, both parties spend a great deal of time discussing portions of Pete v. Youngblood.[10] In Youngblood, a patient sued her doctor for medical malpractice because the doctor allegedly left surgical gauze packed in the patient's body.[11] "During the discovery phase, [the patient] designated several of her treating physicians as individuals likely to have discoverable information."[12] The patient did not, however, "designate any expert witnesses by the court-imposed deadline" as required by Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3)(A).[13]

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Bluebook (online)
2011 UT 15, 250 P.3d 48, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/drew-v-lee-utah-2011.