Christian v. Counseling Resource Associates, Inc.
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The trial court precluded appellants' experts from testifying at trial because appellants failed to provide the experts' reports in accordance with the trial scheduling order. Without any expert testimony, appellants' claims failed as a matter of law, and judgment was entered for appellees. But appellants had requested a conference with the trial court six months before the trial date to discuss the need to revise the scheduling order. The trial court refused to meet with counsel or change the trial date. This case was one of four appeals to the Supreme Court where in each case, plaintiffs' claims were dismissed without being heard on the merits. Upon review, the Supreme Court held that the trial court abused its discretion.
"the trial courts have been applying the factors set forth in 'Drejka v. Hitchens Tire Service Inc.' when deciding whether a case should be dismissed for the attorneys' failure to obey scheduling orders," the Court determined it necessary to refine the 'Drejka' analysis: "parties who ignore or extend scheduling deadlines without promptly consulting the trial court, will do so at their own risk. In other words, any party that grants an informal extension to opposing counsel will be precluded from seeking relief from the court with respect to any deadlines in the scheduling order. By the same token, if the trial court is asked to extend any deadlines in the scheduling order, the extension should not alter the trial date. Counsel may face a compressed time period to complete discovery, or the filing of dispositive motions, but the most important aspect of the scheduling order – the trial date – will be preserved. In the unusual circumstance where the trial court does decide to postpone the trial date, litigants should expect that the trial will be rescheduled after all other trials already scheduled on the court's docket."
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