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ARTICLE · 09 JUNE 2015

Only "Litigation Experts" Must Comply With The Expert Report Rules

Thomson, Rogers
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In Westerhof, the Ontario Court of Appeal determined that experts involved for reasons unrelated to the litigation are not caught by the expert report rules as they were not "engaged by or on behalf of a party".

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Darcy Merkur
Darcy Merkur

While 'litigation experts' hired by a party to a lawsuit must comply with the comprehensive expert report rules set out in rule 53.03 of the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure, 'participant experts' like treating health practitioners and non-party experts like those hired by a non-party insurer need not comply with rule 53.03 in order to provide expert opinion evidence at trial, according to the Ontario Court of Appeal in their pragmatic and much anticipated decision in Westerhof v. Gee et al (2015) ONCA 206 (OCA), released on March 26th.

In Westerhof, the Ontario Court of Appeal determined that experts involved for reasons unrelated to the litigation are not caught by the expert report rules as they were not "engaged by or on behalf of a party". As a result, plaintiff's personal injury lawyers may now return to the customary, economical and sensible practice of relying on expert opinions from treating health practitioners actively involved in the care and treatment

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