Accardo v. Najafi, M.D.

(20) Tentative Ruling

Re: Accardo v. Najafi, M.D. Superior Court Case No. 21CECG01831

Hearing Date: June 10, 2026 (Dept. 403)

Motion: By Plaintiffs for Protective Order to Reduce the Number of Defendant’s Designated Standard of Care Expert Witnesses

If oral argument is timely requested, it will be entertained on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at 3:30 p.m. in Department 403.

Tentative Ruling:

To grant. Defendant is limited to one expert on the standard of care for trial. By June 17, 2026, defendant shall identify which designated expert they elect to designate as their standard of care expert.

Explanation:

In this medical malpractice action defendant has designated two expert witnesses on the same topic – the standard of care, causation and damages. Plaintiffs move for a protective order requiring defendant to choose one.

The court “make any order that justice requires to protect any party from unwarranted annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden and expense.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 2034.250.) The court has discretion to limit the number of expert witnesses testifying at trial to avoid needless cumulative evidence and undue consumption of time. (Evid. Code, § 723.)

As defendant points out, we are not at trial, but in the discovery stage. However, at this point we are about four weeks from start of trial. Defense counsel only designated two experts on the standard of care because he did not know at the time of designation which of the two would be available to testify at trial. Defendant should be able to nail that down at this point. There is no need for plaintiffs to incur the burden and expense of deposing two experts on the same topics when only one will be testifying. It would be an undue burden and expense (Code Civ. Proc., § 2034.250), supporting the grant of this motion for protective order.