Expert Witness Blog
The new strain of coronavirus was officially named “COVID-19” on the February 11, 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO). Since that time, the transmission of the virus has altered virtually all aspects of public life. This disruption may eventually lead to usual court, dispute resolution, and arbitration processes to become less practical because of public health measures put in place to contain the spread of the virus.
Because of the coronavirus, expert witnesses may be forced to testify by video conferencing. This could likely be done at the deposition stage. Although video taping of expert depositions is commonplace, it may become the rule rather than the exception to limit social interaction. If the expert deposition will be videotaped, counsel should remind their expert about their facial expressions, and their tone. It should also be noted that in this time of video posting, counsel should consider obtaining a protective order to prevent the video deposition from being posted on the Internet. See Paisley Park Enters. v. Uptown Prods., 54 F. Supp. 2d 347 (S.D. N.Y. 1999) (where the court ordered strict limits on the dissemination of the video deposition of musician Prince.)