Weidenbacher v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co.

347 So. 2d 1160
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedJuly 1, 1977
Docket59394
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 347 So. 2d 1160 (Weidenbacher v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Weidenbacher v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 347 So. 2d 1160 (La. 1977).

Opinion

347 So.2d 1160 (1977)

Cerina WEIDENBACHER, Plaintiff-Relator,
v.
ST. PAUL FIRE AND MARINE INS. CO. et al., Defendants-Relators.

No. 59394.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

July 1, 1977.

H. Martin Hunley, Jr., John M. Sartin, Jr., Lemle, Kelleher, Kohlmeyer & Matthews, New Orleans, for defendants-relators.

Lawrence J. Smith, Levy & Smith, New Orleans, for plaintiff-relator.

TATE, Justice.

The issue before us concerns the scope of examination of an opponent's retained expert during an oral deposition. The court of appeal summarily reversed a district court order. The district court had required the defendant's expert to respond to the plaintiff's questions, which endeavored to ascertain the witness's expert opinion on matters relevant to the suit.

On the plaintiff's application, we granted certiorari, 342 So.2d 867 (1977), to review the reversal of the trial court order.

(1)

The issue arises in a tort suit for personal injuries allegedly resulting from medical malpractice. The plaintiff was taking a pre-trial discovery deposition of a medical expert retained by the defendant.

Defense counsel objected to certain questions. By these, the plaintiff endeavored to ascertain of the deposed witness his opinions relating chiefly to relevant matters of general medical practice, but also including their application to the present facts.[1]

*1161 The defendants contend, by their objections, that an opponent's expert cannot be examined as to his expert opinion upon any matter. They rely upon La.C.Civ.P. art. 1425 (1976).

In overruling the defendants' objections, the trial court correctly rejected this contention. For the reasons to be explained more fully, the trial court correctly held that, on oral examination, a party may depose an expert witness to be called by his opponent on the expert's opinions, as well as upon all other non-privileged matters. La.C.Civ.P. art. 1422 (1976). This is of course subject to the limitation that, thereby, discovery is not sought of any writing obtained in anticipation of litigation or in preparation for trial. La.C.Civ.P. art. 1424 (1976). As to La.C.Civ.P. art. 1425, relied upon by the defendants, it places limitations only upon discovery of facts (not of opinions) acquired by opponent's expert witness in anticipation of litigation or in preparation for trial.

(2)

By Act 574 of 1976, the legislature amended and re-enacted the discovery provisions of our Code of Civil Procedure. In general, the revised articles reflect an intent to broaden and facilitate discovery, although perhaps Article 1425 (relied upon by the defendant) reflects a limitation upon discovery of the knowledge of an opponent's experts acquired in preparation for trial—but a limitation, as will be noted, applicable only to discovery of knowledge of facts thereby gained by the opponent's expert.

The scope of and limitations upon discovery of a witness, including an opponent's expert, is regulated by La.C.Civ.P. arts. 1422-25, as re-enacted by the 1976 statute. For convenience in reference, we are setting forth these provisions in an appendix to this opinion.

Article 1422 states the broad rule usually applicable: "Parties may obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged, which is relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action * * *. It is not ground for objection that the information sought will be inadmissible at the trial if the information sought appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence." (Italics ours.)

Under the scheme of the code articles, this broad scope of recovery applies except when modified by Articles 1423, 1424, or 1425 (or unless a limiting protective order is granted for good cause, upon motion, see Article 1426).

The defendants rely upon Article 1425, in contending that the opinions of an opponent's expert are not discoverable. However, by its express terms this article limits discovery only as to "facts known by experts. . . acquired or developed in anticipation of litigation or for trial." The limitations of this article thus do not apply to the discovery of opinions of experts, whether or not developed in preparation for trial.

We cannot, in the guise of interpretation, alter this plain and unambiguous meaning of Articles 1422 and 1425, by substituting for it (as defendants urge us to) any conception of what the legislature may or should have intended by certain legislative amendments to the bill, as originally proposed, *1162 during the course of the legislation's enactment.

Thus, as finally adopted, by the omission of any reference to a limitation in Article 1425 upon discovery of opinions of an opponent's experts, these witnesses are subject to interrogation upon oral deposition as to their opinions "regarding any matter, not privileged, which is relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action." Article 1422.

(3)

The defendants further contended, at least initially before the trial court, that even if the expert opinions of their witness are discoverable as to matters within his general expertise, such opinions are not discoverable insofar as acquired or developed in preparation for litigation.

In the code articles, we find no such limitation upon discovery of an expert's opinions.

Article 1424, it is true, limits discovery "of any writing obtained or prepared by the adverse party, his . . . expert, or agent in anticipation of litigation or in preparation for trial * * *."

In the present case, however, no question was asked concerning "any writing" prepared by the expert in anticipation of litigation, nor as to any opinion or factual finding insofar as reflected by such writing. Consequently, Article 1424 is not applicable to the questions asked by the plaintiff of the defendants' expert.

It is true that in our recent decision in Hanks v. Drs. Ranson, Swan and Burch, Ltd., 340 So.2d 152 (La.1976), we did incidentally refer, 340 So.2d 155, to some dictum to the contrary in State through Department of Highways v. Spruell, 243 La. 202, 142 So.2d 396 (1962), in distinguishing the latter decision and denying its claimed applicability to the issue then before the court.

The effect of the reference was to seem to indicate approval of a rule limiting discovery his opinion prepared in anticipation of litigation. Any such indicated approval was inadvertent, however, as the issue there before us[2] did not (as we expressly held) involve any potential application of any limitation of discovery upon the opinions of an opponent's experts who had prepared writings in anticipation of or preparation for litigation.

The limitation provided by Article 1424 relates only to "any writing" prepared by an expert in preparation of limitation, including "any part of the writing that reflects the mental impressions, conclusions, opinions, or theories of an attorney or an expert." There is a significant distinction between the discovery of a writing prepared by an expert in anticipation of litigation or in preparation for trial (protected by Article 1424) and the discovery by oral deposition of an opinion of an expert expected to be used at trial. In the case of a writing, the writing must be produced "as is", with no protection of counsel being present, as in the case of an oral deposition, to protect against inquiry into strategy, settlement recommendations, privileged matters, etc.

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