Expert Disclosure at Discovery Stage

In Galea v. Best Water Limited, 2019 ONSC 7213, the defendant requested production of certain “foundational information” of the plaintiff’s expert, including information on the type of testing performed, raw data, and photographs.

The requirement to produce “foundational information” is mandated by rule 53.03(2.1) of the Rules of Civil Procedure. This rule deals with expert reports at trial. It does not apply to the discovery stage.

Although prior case law indicated that the “foundational information” of an expert has to be produced at the discovery stage, Master Robinson stated that the law changed as a result of the Court of Appeal’s decision in Moore v. Getahun, 2015 ONCA 55.

Therefore, Master Robinson held that the plaintiff does not have to produce the “foundational information” at the discovery stage. This information only needs to be produced if the plaintiff serves the expert’s report prior to the pre-trial conference in accordance with rule 53.03.

At the discovery stage, a party is only required to provide the findings, opinions and conclusions of an expert, unless privilege is claimed and the party undertakes to not call the expert as a witness at trial.