Opinion ID: 2575425
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Did the district court abuse its discretion by refusing to limit the number of expert witnesses during discovery?

Text: The Edmunds argue that the district court's refusal to limit the number of expert witnesses was error. They contend that the disclosure of fifty-three expert witnesses by the defendants was an abusive tactic that prevented genuine discovery of expert opinions by deposition. St. Alphonsus replies that in actuality, it retained only three experts, and that most of the expert witnesses disclosed by other defendants were James' treating physicians and fact witnesses, not expert witnesses; therefore, there was no attempt by the defendants to disclose an oppressive number of experts to prejudice the Edmunds. Additionally, St. Alphonsus contends that the decision to exclude witness testimony is discretionary, and the district court did not abuse its discretion by refusing the limit the number of experts. Trial courts are vested with the discretion to limit the number of expert witnesses allowed to testify. Hansen v. Universal Health Servs. of Nevada, Inc., 115 Nev. 24, 974 P.2d 1158, 1161 (1999). When determining whether a district court abused its discretion, this Court considers three factors: (1) whether the trial court correctly perceived the issue as one of discretion, (2) whether it acted within the boundaries of its discretion and consistently with applicable legal principles, and (3) whether it reached its decision through an exercise of reason. Lamar Corp., 133 Idaho at 40, 981 P.2d at 1150. Here, the decision not to limit the number of experts was an abuse of discretion because the district court was not acting consistently with legal principles. First, the district court believed that limiting the number of witnesses was simply an evidentiary issue for trial, not a discovery matter. At the hearing on the Edmunds' motion to limit the number of expert witnesses the trial judge stated: Also, sir, your motion to limit the number of expert witnesses I think is simply premature at this point. I've got to do a Rule 403 balancing. If I'm hearing from ten internists and they want to bring on Internist No. 11, then I've got to do a 403 balancing, and I wouldn't be able to do it before that point. There's no authority that I have to limit their number of experts simply because they have a certain number and you have a certain lesser number. So I don't think [this motion is] well taken and I'm not inclined to grant [it]. Later during the hearing, when the parties again referred to the number of expert witnesses disclosed by the defendants, the lower court stated: I tried to say up front I don't care, I'm not playing a numbers game here. . . . [T]hat's not a legal issue for me. However, in addition to ruling on evidentiary issues at trial, Idaho courts have the inherent authority to delineate issues for trial and indicate the expert witness or witnesses allowed to testify to each relevant issue during the discovery phase of litigation. Our law and our rules of civil procedure both provide that courts have the authority to limit the number of expert witnesses prior to trial. We have long recognized that courts have broad, inherent powers to control discovery. See Bailey v. Sanford, 139 Idaho 744, 749, 86 P.3d 458, 463 (2004). This includes the inherent authority to limit the number of expert witnesses during discovery. See Hansen, 974 P.2d at 1161 (finding no abuse of discretion where district court disallowed three expert witnesses prior to trial when it did not preclude the party seeking to use the witness testimony from raising a relevant issue). We have also advised that judges should not hesitate to exercise appropriate control over the discovery process. Sierra Life Ins., Co. v. Magic Valley Newspapers, Inc., 101 Idaho 795, 801, 623 P.2d 103, 109 (1980) (quoting Herbert v. Lando, 441 U.S. 153, 177, 99 S.Ct. 1635, 1649, 60 L.Ed.2d 115, 134 (1979)). Our rules of civil procedure and the express purposes behind our discovery rules likewise recognize the court's authority to limit the number of expert witnesses. Rule 16(d)(4) provides that a court may limit the number of expert witnesses prior to trial. Rule 1(a) requires that the rules of civil procedure be liberally construed to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding. Our discovery rules were designed to prevent surprise at trial, Pearce v. Ollie, 121 Idaho 539, 552, 826 P.2d 888, 901 (1992), and discovery rules regarding expert witnesses were designed to promote fairness and candor, see Radmer, 120 Idaho at 89, 813 P.2d at 900. Effective cross-examination and rebuttal of expert witnesses requires advanced preparation and knowledge of that expert's testimony. Id. Neither effective cross-examination nor effective discovery designed to achieve just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action can take place when one party is allowed to disclose an oppressive number of expert witnesses and the trial court refuses to consider limiting expert testimony. St. Alphonsus's statement that they really only disclosed three expert witnesses should not have come at the appellate level, but should have been dealt with at an early pretrial conference. At the very least the trial court should have considered the Edmunds' request to limit the number of experts as a discovery issue and examined the purposes behind our discovery rules when ruling on the motion. Ideally, the lower court should have held a conference pursuant to I.R.C.P. 16(d) to discuss limiting the number of experts and determine more fully on which issues these experts would be expected to testify in order to comport with the purposes behind expert witness discovery and to prevent possible discovery abuses. Idaho trial courts are expected to effectively and actively manage discovery to achieve the purposes of the discovery rules and to reach a just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of the issues. Therefore, this Court reverses the district court's denial of the Edmunds motion to limit the number of expert witnesses and remands for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.