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ARTICLE · 02 OCTOBER 2017

Case Comment: Ongoing Gatekeeping Duty Of Trial Judge Regarding Expert Evidence Bruff-Murphy V. Gunawardena, 2017 ONCA 502

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The Ontario Court of Appeal has recently provided direction on the ongoing role of trial judges with respect to the admissibility of expert evidence at trial.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Amelia Leckey
Amelia Leckey
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The Ontario Court of Appeal has recently provided direction on the ongoing role of trial judges with respect to the admissibility of expert evidence at trial. As noted by Justice Hourigan "The law regarding expert witnesses has evolved considerably over the last 20 years....Today, expert witnesses are required to be independent, and their function is to provide the trier of fact with expert opinion evidence that is fair, objective and non-partisan."

The plaintiff was injured in a motor vehicle accident. Liability was admitted. The jury trial dealt only with damages. At trial the plaintiff sought to exclude the evidence of Dr. Monte Bail, a psychiatrist retained by the defence.  The plaintiff argued (1) Dr. Bail's report was really just an attack on the plaintiff's credibility, and (2) Dr. Bail was biased. The trial judge allowed the doctor was allowed to testify albeit with some restrictions on the scope of his testimony.

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