House v. Combined Ins. Co. of America
United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa
168 F.R.D. 236 (N.D. Iowa 1996)
House (plaintiff) sued Combined Insurance (defendant) for sexual harassment, and Combined initially designated psychiatrist Dr. Taylor as an expert expected to testify after he examined House; when Combined later removed Taylor from its witness list (without formally withdrawing his designation) and sought a protective order barring further discovery about him, House sought to compel his examination report and depose him. A magistrate judge allowed House to see the report but not depose Taylor, and the district court orally ruled House could depose him, reserving final judgment on whether House could actually call Taylor to testify at trial.
Whether, once a party withdraws its designation of an expert as likely to testify, the opposing party may depose or call that expert without showing exceptional circumstances.