Federal civil litigation often requires parties to disclose expert witnesses who will offer opinion testimony at trial. These expert disclosures typically include a written report describing the expert’s qualifications, opinions, and the bases for those opinions. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a) and 26(e) require parties to disclose the bases of their experts’ opinions and to supplement expert disclosures when additional information becomes available or when supplementation is required by court order.
For the deadline to disclose rebuttal expert testimony, see our guide to the federal rebuttal expert disclosure deadline.
In many federal cases, the court’s scheduling order establishes specific expert disclosure deadlines that may replace the default timing in Rule 26(a)(2). Users should always compare the calculated deadline with the court’s scheduling order, local rules, and any case-specific order entered by the judge.
When are expert disclosures due in federal court?
Expert disclosure deadlines also interact with other federal discovery deadlines, including the Rule 26(f) conference, initial disclosures, and rebuttal expert disclosures.