In re the Estate of Flynn

New York Surrogate's Court

In re the Estate of Flynn

130 Misc. 2d 301, 496 N.Y.S.2d 653, 1985 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 3189

New York Surrogate's Court·Decided December 3, 1985·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Bertram R. Gelfand, J.

In this contested probate proceeding, proponent has served written interrogatories upon the objectants. The objectants have now moved to vacate, in their entirety, the interrogatories so served.

However, whether objectant should be required to disclose the identity of his expert witnesses, if any, plus their qualifications and the scope of their testimony, presents a more thorny issue. An amendment to CPLR 3101 (d) became effective July 1, 1985 requiring such disclosure (L 1985, ch 294). However, the legislation specifically provides that it is applicable only to actions commenced after July 1, 1985. The instant matter was at issue prior to July 1, 1985; The specificity with which the Legislature delineated the applicability of this new disclosure requirement precludes expanding it to pending matters by judicial fiat. In any event, interrogatories are not the proper procedure for obtaining information on expert witnesses even under the new provisions of CPLR 3101 (d). Interrogatory number 6 is vacated.

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OPINION OF THE COURT

Bertram R. Gelfand, J.

In this contested probate proceeding, proponent has served written interrogatories upon the objectants. The objectants have now moved to vacate, in their entirety, the interrogatories so served.

However, whether objectant should be required to disclose the identity of his expert witnesses, if any, plus their qualifications and the scope of their testimony, presents a more thorny issue. An amendment to CPLR 3101 (d) became effective July 1, 1985 requiring such disclosure (L 1985, ch 294). However, the legislation specifically provides that it is applicable only to actions commenced after July 1, 1985. The instant matter was at issue prior to July 1, 1985; The specificity with which the Legislature delineated the applicability of this new disclosure requirement precludes expanding it to pending matters by judicial fiat. In any event, interrogatories are not the proper procedure for obtaining information on expert witnesses even under the new provisions of CPLR 3101 (d). Interrogatory number 6 is vacated.

In re the Estate of Flynn, 130 Misc. 2d 301, 496 N.Y.S.2d 653, 1985 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 3189 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1985).

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Opinion

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