United States District Court, District of Wyoming
JOHN HENRY SEYFANG, IV, individually; and LAURA SEYFANG, individually and as Parent and Next Friend of J.H.S., a minor child, Plaintiffs,
v.
DREAMHOME RESTORATION, LLC, Defendant.
ORDER ON DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO
SUPPLEMENT ITS EXPERT REPORT OF DR. HAL S. WORTZEL [DOC
39]
MARK
L. CARMAN UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.
This
matter comes before this Court upon Defendant's
Motion for Leave to Supplement its Expert Report of
Dr. Hal. S. Wortzel [Doc 39]. This motion involves a
disagreement between the parties as to the timing and
designation of a medical expert who performs an independent
medical exam ("IME"). Defendant has elected to
subject Plaintiff J.H.S. (hereinafter "Plaintiff) to a
medical examination by Hal S. Wortzel, M.D. Plaintiff has
consented to the medical exam taking place, but asserts that
Defendant may not designate Dr. Wortzel's testimony
arising from the examination as the period for designation of
experts under the Order on Initial Pretrial Conference
("Pretrial Order") [Doc 27] has expired. Plaintiff
further argues that there is not "good cause" to
extend the time for the designation of experts as set forth
in the Pretrial Order, Defendant counters that the Pretrial
Order does not require the IME report to be included in the
expert designation and if it does, there is good cause to
amend the schedule. The parties consulted with Judge Carman
in accordance with this Court's Amended Administrative
General Order 2012-14, but were unable to resolve this issue.
Plaintiff
alleges that he was exposed to dangerous levels of carbon
monoxide on the morning of October 20, 2014 as a result of
the negligent installation of a roof vent cap by Defendant
during the replacement of the roof on his home in Worland,
Wyoming. Plaintiff alleges he sustained permanent brain
injuries as a result of the carbon monoxide poisoning.
Plaintiff has designated Carol Anderson, Ph.D., a
neuropsychologist, to provide testimony regarding the nature
and scope of Plaintiffs injuries. Dr. Anderson examined
Plaintiff in September 2017 and drafted her report on January
11, 2018, which was then disclosed with Plaintiffs expert
designation on February 21, 2018. Plaintiff provided
Defendant with a short letter from Dr. Anderson on October 6,
2017, apparently in regards to settlement discussions. As to
Plaintiff, Dr. Anderson wrote:
Neuropsychological assessment results indicate that
Johnny's greatest area of dysfunction is in the domain of
psychological distress (severe depressive symptoms and severe
anxiety symptoms). However, neuropsychological testing also
suggests "borderline" (variable; mild) memory
impairments, and problems with inattention, impulsivity, and
mental flexibility. Given Johnny's pre-exposure history,
it is my opinion that the carbon monoxide exposure caused an
exacerbation of symptoms, leading to greater functional
impairments than he would have otherwise experienced.
Doc. 40-1 Page 2.
Dr.
Anderson did not provide any additional information regarding
Plaintiff in her October 6th letter.
Upon
receipt of Dr. Anderson's full report with the expert
designation of February 21, 2018, Defendant determined that
it needed to obtain an IME of Plaintiff. The parties have
agreed that Dr. Wortzel will conduct an IME of Plaintiff on
April 6, 2018. Nevertheless, Plaintiff objects to any
designation of testimony by Dr. Wortzel as the date for
designation of expert testimony has passed.
Law
and Discussion
An
initial pretrial conference was held in this matter on
September 20, 2017, and the Pretrial Order was issued [Doc
27]. That order set the following relevant dates:
• January 31, 2018: Plaintiff s designation of expert
testimony.
• March 2, 2018: Defendant's designation of expert
testimony
• April 6, 2018: "ALL DISCOVERY, including
fact discovery, all IME's and expert witness
depositions must be complete by this date."
(emphasis in original)
• May 4, 2018: Deadline for filing of Dispositive
Motions
• May 4, 2018: Deadline for filing other pretrial
motions, including Daube ...