Opinion ID: 735363
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Motion to Extend Time and Exclusion of Experts.

Text: 25 On August 24, 1995, defendants moved to extend the time by which they had to disclose their experts and their proposed opinions from September 1 to October 1. Defendants argued the extension was necessary to allow time to take a medical examination, because they were not able to examine all of plaintiff's experts by the August 11, 1995 deadline, and because plaintiff had not yet produced certain documents. On October 30, 1995, the district court denied the motion as moot because it denied the request for the medical examination and the date of the requested extension had passed. Defendants argue the only reason the motion was moot was because of the district court's own delay in ruling on it. 26 The magistrate judge should have been more prompt in ruling on the motion to extend time. However, there must be a clear showing that the denial of the requested extension resulted in actual and substantial prejudice for it to warrant reversal. Gile, 95 F.3d at 495. Defendants claim prejudice from the court's order to strike their experts, issued because the disclosures for which they requested the extension were untimely. Because we find that sanction justified, as discussed below, we see no abuse of discretion in the denial of defendants' motion to extend time. 27 Defendants claim the district court abused its discretion and unfairly prejudiced their case when it excluded their experts as a sanction for their failure to make timely disclosures. Rule 26(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires parties to disclose the identity of any experts they may use at trial and a summary of those experts' opinions. The district court granted plaintiff's motion to strike defendants' experts because defendants did not timely make this disclosure. Defendants failed to disclose this information until three days before trial, 60 days after the deadline, and 30 days after their requested extended deadline. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(c) states that a party who fails to disclose information (including expert lists) in accordance with Rule 26(a) shall not, unless such failure is harmless, be permitted to use as evidence at a trial ... any witness ... not so disclosed. This sanction is automatic and mandatory unless the party can show the violation was either justified or harmless. Finley v. Marathon Oil Co., 75 F.3d 1225, 1230 (7th Cir.1996). We will reverse only if the district court abused its broad discretion in determining whether a violation is justified or harmless. Id. at 1231; see also Patel v. Gayes, 984 F.2d 214, 217 (7th Cir.1993). 28 Delay until three days before trial is not harmless, see Finley, 75 F.3d at 1230, and defendants do not argue that it is. Rather, defendants argue they were justified in their delay because they were waiting for the court to rule on their motion to extend time and their request to take a medical examination. However, defendants did not file any additional request for an extension of time when October 1--the date of their requested extension--arrived. Nor did they offer any reason why they could not have disclosed a provisional list of experts and proposed opinions subject to revision if the court granted their motion for the medical examination. The court issued no ruling modifying its September discovery schedule. Thus, that schedule remained in force and defendants disregarded it at their own risk. Defendants' delay was not tardy only because of the court's own delay in ruling. Rather, defendants made a tactical decision to wait and see how the court ruled on their motion. The proper course was to obey the court's order, timely disclose the list of experts and their proposed opinions, and update that disclosure if a medical examination was granted or if otherwise necessary. See Fed.R.Civ.Pro. 26(a)(2)(C), 26(e) (requiring supplementation of expert disclosures). Unwise tactical decisions such as this are not the type of occurrence for which we reverse trial courts on appeal. Daniel J. Hartwig Assoc., Inc. v. Kanner, 913 F.2d 1213, 1223 (7th Cir.1990) (affirming denial of additional time for discovery when movant failed to conduct discovery during pendency of his motion to dismiss). 29 Moreover, defendants still did not make the required disclosures by the date of their requested extension, October 1, 1995. Thus, even if the court granted their motion to extend time, defendants were still a month late in disclosing their list of experts. Given this delay, the district court was still well within its discretion to strike defendants' experts. See Scaggs v. Consolidated Rail Corp., 6 F.3d 1290, 1295-96 (7th Cir.1993) (affirming order barring expert from testifying as sanction for noncompliance with discovery deadline as within district court's discretion).