Federal Rule 26(a)(2) Expert Witness Disclosures: Strategies for Composing and Attacking Expert Disclosures

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(A)(2) governs disclosure of expert testimony. The rule purports to create a clear delineation between experts that must provide a written report and those that do not. The rule then outlines the disclosure requirements that must be satisfied as to each type of expert. This article focuses on the implications of Rule 26(A)(2) in practice, with an emphasis on the field of aviation litigation. The article begins by discussing the general difference between non-retained experts and retained experts and the disclosure requirements associated with each. The article then progresses into a series of practice pointers intended to serve as strategies for appropriately composing expert disclosures and for attacking an opponent’s expert disclosures