Wallace et al v. Tindall et al

Filing 114

ORDER sustaining 113 defendants' objections to plaintiffs' deposition notices. Signed on 4/21/11 by Chief District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr. (Enss, Rhonda)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
WESTERN DIVISION
ROBERT WALLACE and
PATTY JO WALLACE,
Plaintiffs,
v.
LAMONT E. TINDALL,
WERNER ENTERPRISES, INC.
d/b/a WERNER ENTERPRISES, and
NORTHLAND INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendants.

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) No. 09-00775-CV-W-FJG
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ORDER
Currently pending before the Court are defendants’ objections to plaintiffs’
deposition notices of defense experts (Doc. # 113).
Plaintiffs filed deposition notices with respect to four of defendants’ retained
experts. The depositions are scheduled to take place on April 22, 26, 27 and May 10,
2011. On April 20, 2011, defendants Lamont Tindall and Werner Enterprises objected
to the deposition notices because they exceeded the scope of discovery permitted by
the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
On February 1, 2011, the Court issued the Third Amended Scheduling Order in
this case (Doc. # 97). The Scheduling Order specifically states in ¶ 7 a.2.:
Any further discovery relative to the information and opinions
reflected in the expert affidavits shall be by Court order. The party
requesting further discovery shall file a motion specifying what additional
discovery is needed, and stating in detail why additional discovery is
necessary. This motion shall be filed within five days of the close of
discovery. The opposition to said request shall be filed within five days

thereafter. Counsel should be advised that this request for additional
discovery will not be automatically granted.
¶ 7 b. states:
One of the purposes of the expert affidavit is to set forth the
substance of a direct examination. If properly done, the expert affidavit
should eliminate the need for deposing some experts. Consequently, the
detailed statements in the affidavit are essential.
Accordingly, the Court hereby SUSTAINS defendants’ objections to plaintiffs’
deposition notices. Plaintiffs will not be allowed to take the depositions of any of
defendants’ expert witnesses unless they first file a motion with the Court stating what
additional discovery is needed and explaining why the depositions are necessary.

Date: 04/21/11
Kansas City, Missouri

S/ FERNANDO J. GAITAN, JR.
Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr.
Chief United States District Judge

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