§ 2034.610.Scope of judicial authority where exchange of information was

The initial expert exchange is not necessarily the last word on who a party will call or what that party's experts will say, and this section opens the door to changing it after the fact, but only for a party who played by the rules the first time around. A party who has engaged in a timely exchange of expert witness information may move the court for leave to do either of two things: augment its expert witness list and declaration by adding a newly retained expert's name and address, or amend its expert witness declaration to change the general substance of what a previously designated expert is expected to say.

Timing constrains the motion. It ordinarily has to be made far enough ahead of the discovery cutoff under Chapter 8 to leave room for the added or changed expert to be deposed within that same time limit; a motion filed too close to the cutoff to allow a deposition afterward does not fit the ordinary schedule this section contemplates. The court retains discretion to permit a later motion under exceptional circumstances, but that is the exception rather than the rule. Whenever the motion is made, it must be accompanied by a meet-and-confer declaration under Section 2016.040, showing the moving party tried to resolve the change informally before asking the court to intervene.