Deposition of Expert Witnesses

Part 4, Title 4, Chapter 18, Article 3 deals with the deposition of expert witnesses under the Civil Discovery Act in California.

Section 2034.410 provides that, upon receipt of an expert witness list from a party, any other party may take the deposition of any person on the list. The procedures for taking oral and written depositions apply to a deposition of a listed trial expert witness except as provided in this article.

Section 2034.415 specifies that an expert whose deposition is noticed is required to produce, prior to their deposition, any materials or category of materials, including any electronically stored information, called for by the deposition notice.

Section 2034.420 provides that the deposition of any expert must be taken at a place that is within 75 miles of the courthouse where the action is pending. 

Section 2034.430 applies this to expert witnesses who are any of three specified persons. A party desiring to depose an expert witness is required to pay the expert’s reasonable and customary hourly or daily fee for any time spent at the deposition from the time noticed in the deposition subpoena.

Section 2034.440 provides that the party designating an expert is responsible for any fee charged by the expert for preparing for a deposition and for traveling to the place of the deposition, as well as for any travel expenses of the expert.

Section 2034.450 requires the party taking the deposition of an expert witness to either accompany the service of the deposition notice with a tender of the expert’s fee based on the anticipated length of the deposition, or tender that fee at the commencement of the deposition.

Section 2034.460 specifies that the service of a proper deposition notice accompanied by the tender of the expert witness fee is effective to require the party employing or retaining the expert to produce the expert for the deposition.

Section 2034.470 states that, if a party desiring to take the deposition of an expert witness under this article deems that the hourly or daily fee of that expert for providing deposition testimony is unreasonable, that party may move for an order setting the compensation of that expert. Notice of this motion must also be given to the expert. A motion is to be accompanied by a meet and confer declaration and provide the parties with at least three specified items.