Expert Report

To lead expert evidence at trial, you must have your expert prepare and share an expert report with the other parties. You can prepare two kinds of expert reports: an ordinary expert report, and a responding report.

• An ordinary expert report sets out the expert’s opinion on a matter
•  A responding report is a special kind of report that can be prepared only if the other side gives you an expert report. A responding report will be where an expert explains any problems or concerns with the other side’s expert method

Deadlines

You must serve every other party a copy of an ordinary expert report 84 days (12 weeks) before the start of the trial.

You must serve every other party a copy of any responding report 42 days (six weeks) before the start of the trial.

Instruction Letter

Once you decide to hire an expert, you must provide a letter instructing the expert. This is a letter that sets out:

• When the matter is going to trial
• When the expert report must be delivered (ask for a draft at least a week before it is due)
  • Remember, ordinary reports must be served at least 84 days before trial, and responding reports must be served at least 42 days before trial
• What the expert will be paid
• What information the report is to be based on
• What questions you want to expert to answer

Setting out the information that the report is to be based on is crucially important. As a general rule, experts are not able to give evidence as to the facts of your case. They only explain what conclusions might be drawn from those facts.

This means that you have to prove the facts that the report is based on. In order to be able to do that, you need to be very clear as to what facts the expert assumed to be true. Make sure that you tell your expert to be clear as to what material and assumptions they relied on in coming to their conclusion. You will then have to make sure that those facts are proven on the evidence at trial. For more information on proving your case at trial, see Evidence.

Content of Expert Report

According to Rule 11-6(1) an expert report must set out:

• The expert's name, address and area of expertise
• The expert's qualifications and employment and educational experience in their area of expertise
• The instructions provided to the expert in relation to the proceeding
• The nature of the opinion being sought and the issues in the proceeding to which the opinion relates
• The expert's opinion respecting those issues
• The expert's reasons for their opinion, including
  • A description of the factual assumptions on which the opinion is based
  • A description of any research conducted by the expert that led them to form the opinion, and
  • A list of every document relied on by the expert in forming the opinion