Bring on the Sandbag

Du-All Safety, LLC v. Superior Court, No. A155119 (D1d2 Apr. 18, 2019)

The Code of Civil Procedure anticipates two rounds of expert disclosure: an initial round and then a supplemental round. In the supplemental round, parties can designate experts on topics that other parties designated in their initial rounds. But there’s an important caveat set out in a case called Fairfax v. Lords: No sandbagging. On a topic that the parties have “every reason to anticipate” will require expert testimony, the parties don’t get to hold back and wait to disclose only as a supplemental.