A court has the inherent power to disqualify an expert witness in order to preserve the fairness and integrity of the judicial process. Disqualification based on a conflict of interest is required when the court finds both: (1) that it was objectively reasonable for a party claiming to have initially retained the expert to conclude that a confidential relationship existed between them, and (2) that confidential or privileged information was disclosed by the party to the expert.
Here, Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in granting the motion to disqualify plaintiff's damages expert, due to the conflict of interest created when his firm hired an employee who worked for defendants' expert during the pendency of this action. Defendants demonstrated that the employee actively participated in the preparation of defense litigation strategies. The employee admittedly reviewed and analyzed plaintiff's documents on defendants' behalf, prepared or had input in drafting documents summarizing plaintiff's financial data, and communicated with and attended meetings with defendants' counsel. Accordingly, defendants had a reasonable expectation of a confidential relationship with the employee, and confidences were actually exchanged with him, satisfying both prongs of the disqualification test.
Manna Amsterdam Ave. LLC v. West 73rd Tenants Corp., NY Slip Op 01892 (1st Dep't April 9, 2024)
