Chicago, Ill. (July 2, 2020) - In Grant v. Rancour, 2020 IL App (2d) 190802 (June 12, 2020), the Second District Appellate Court in Illinois approved the trial court's order requiring the defendant to produce her automobile insurer's documents related to controlled expert witnesses previously retained by that insurer in unrelated cases.
Illinois discovery rules, backed by the courts, have long allowed for far-reaching discovery requests into the background of expert witnesses in order to provide fuel for opposing counsel's cross-examination of that expert for potential bias, partisanship, or financial interest. 'Opposing parties may cross-examine an expert witness about the amount and percentage of his or her income generated as an expert witness, the frequency with which he or she testifies, and the frequency with which he or she testifies for a particular side.' Id. ⁋ 36. Discovery requests regarding expert information have been expanding over recent years. Courts have required controlled expert witnesses to produce personal financial records, including federal 1099 tax forms related to legal work as well as personal income tax returns, even when they include information concerning the expert's spouse.
Likewise, the...
