Court Opinion

ID: 9607611
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 03:00:41.754333+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:28:45.517554
License: Public Domain

JACKSON, Judge
concurring in the result.
Although I concur in the result reached by the majority in this case, I respectfully disagree with the analysis employed with respect to-the expert witness fees. Specifically, I cannot agree with the majority opinion’s statement that “in determining whether the trial court is barred by the lack of a subpoena from awarding the costs of an expert witness, ... it is the service of the subpoena on the witness, not the service of the subpoena on the opposing partyf,] which is dis-positive.” (Emphasis added). I, therefore, write separately to express my concern that the majority opinion diminishes the significance of or eliminates altogether the issue of prejudice to the opposing party from the lack of service of a witness subpoena.
Prejudice, however, should be a relevant factor in determining whether the trial court abused its discretion. As defendants correctly note in their,appellee brief, “[t]he essential purpose of the requirement under N.C.R. Civ. P. 5 that all papers be served on all parties is undoubtedly to prevent prejudice or surprise.” Without a copy of a witness subpoena, the opposing party may be prejudiced by the loss of the opportunity to object. See Biocore Med. Techs., Inc. v. Khosrowshahi, 181 F.R.D. 660, 667 (D. Kan. 1998) (“While abuse of the subpoena process harms both opposing counsel and public confidence in the judicial system, the purpose behind the notice requirement is to provide opposing counsel an opportunity to object to the subpoena.” (internal citation omitted)). Indeed, some federal courts have ordered the party issuing the subpoena to a witness to pay the opposing party’s costs when the party fails to comply with the federal notice requirements. See Murphy v. Bd. of Educ. of Rochester Sch. Dist., 196 F.R.D. 220, 222-23 (W.D.N.Y. 2000) (ordering the payment of attorney’s fees and costs where plaintiff’s counsel issued twelve subpoenas without prior notice to the opposing parties). Although the federal notice requirement differs from the state requirement,3 the issue of prejudice still should be a factor in determining whether a trial court abuses its discretion in awarding witness expenses when the opposing party was not served with a copy of the subpoena as mandated by Rule 45(b)(2).
*183Although the majority correctly concludes that plaintiffs’ failure to serve a copy of the subpoenas on plaintiffs did not deprive the trial court of the authority to award witness expenses, service of the subpoenas on the witness should not be “dispositive.” Instead, in exercising its discretion with respect to awarding expenses, the trial court should consider — in addition to whether the witness was served properly — whether the failure to serve the opposing party pursuant to Rule 45(b)(2), like most other procedural irregularities, prejudiced the opposing party. See, e.g., Beck v. Voncannon, 237 N.C. 707, 713, 75 S.E.2d 895, 900 (1953) (discussing a defect in a summons and noting that “[a]s to the procedural irregularities alleged by the plaintiffs, they have shown no prejudice in law resulting therefrom.”).
Ultimately, in the instant case, plaintiffs fail to argue, and the record fails to demonstrate, that plaintiffs were prejudiced by defendants’ violation of Rule 45(b)(2). In fact, plaintiffs stipulated that (1) pursuant to a consent discovery order, the witnesses were identified and designated by defendants as expert witnesses who would testify at trial; and (2) defense counsel provided plaintiffs with at least one-day advance notice of the witness’s trial appearance. Therefore, I agree that the trial court’s order should be affirmed, and accordingly, I respectfully concur in the result.

. Pursuant to Federal Rule 45, notice to the opposing party is only required when “the subpoena commands the production of documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things or the inspection of premises before trial.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 45(b)(1).