Opinion ID: 819782
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Exclusion of Holcomb’s Supplemental Report

Text: Hunt contests the District Court’s decision to exclude a supplemental expert report, submitted pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(B),2 which was disclosed after the close of expert discovery and without any request for an extension of the deadline. The District Court excluded 1 For a careful and comprehensive description of the various theories of the two experts, see Hunt v. CNH America LLC, 857 F. Supp. 2d 320, 327–34 (W.D.N.Y. 2012). 2 In relevant part, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(b) provides: (2) Disclosure of Expert Testimony. ... (B) Witnesses Who Must Provide a Written Report. Unless otherwise stipulated or ordered by the court, this disclosure must be accompanied by a written report--prepared and signed by the witness--if the witness is one retained or specially employed to provide expert testimony in the case or one whose duties as the party’s employee regularly involve giving expert testimony. The report must contain: (i) a complete statement of all opinions the witness will express and the basis and reasons for them; (ii) the facts or data considered by the witness in forming them; (iii) any exhibits that will be used to summarize or support them; (iv) the witness's qualifications, including a list of all publications authored in the previous 10 years; (v) a list of all other cases in which, during the previous 4 years, the witness testified as an expert at trial or by deposition; and (vi) a statement of the compensation to be paid for the study and testimony in the case. 3 Holcomb’s supplemental report pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(c)(1), which provides that “a party [that] fails to provide information or identify a witness as required by Rule 26(a) or (e) . . . is not allowed to use that information or witness to supply evidence on a motion, at a hearing, or at a trial, unless the failure was substantially justified or is harmless.” We review the District Court’s exclusion of testimony under Rule 37(c)(1) for abuse of discretion. Patterson v. Balsamico, 440 F.3d 104, 117 (2d Cir. 2006); see In re Sims, 534 F.3d 117, 132 (2d Cir. 2008) (A district court abuses its discretion if it “base[s] its ruling on an erroneous view of the law or on a clearly erroneous assessment of the evidence, or render[s] a decision that cannot be located within the range of permissible decisions.” (internal citations and quotation marks omitted)). “In determining whether the district court acted within its discretion, this Court considers (1) the party’s explanation for the failure to comply with the disclosure requirement; (2) the importance of the testimony of the precluded witnesses; (3) the prejudice suffered by the opposing party as a result of having to prepare to meet the new testimony; and (4) the possibility of a continuance.” Patterson, 440 F.3d at 117 (internal quotation marks and brackets omitted). The District Court carefully considered the appropriate factors and concluded that exclusion of the evidence was warranted under Rule 37(c)(1). Indeed, Hunt does not claim that the District Court made any legal error reaching this decision; he simply disagrees with the outcome. We cannot say that the District Court rested its ruling on “a clearly erroneous assessment of the evidence” or made “a decision that cannot be located within the range of permissible decisions.” In re Sims, 534 F.3d at 132. Accordingly, we conclude that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in excluding Holcomb’s supplemental report.