When Form 8865 Disclosure 2023-2024

Hi there, it's Wendy Hernandez with "Command the Courtroom." In this week's video, I want to talk with you about potential sanctions you could suffer if you don't follow the rules when it comes to disclosure and discovery. The reason I want to address this topic in today's video is because this is something that's come up for me in a couple of my cases recently. In one of the cases, we were about two weeks out from trial and I was shocked when I received an expert report from the other side. According to the rules and the court's order, expert reports were actually due two months prior to trial. This report was a pretty big report, 57 pages long, and it was filled with numbers, charts, and graphs. So, I ended up filing a motion to preclude the report from coming in at trial and also to stop the expert from testifying at trial. The other side filed a response and I filed a reply. We got a minute entry order from the judge saying "work it out", but part of that minute entry order was a statement by the judge that if we didn't work it out, the judge would be strongly considering whether to impose sanctions upon the attorneys and/or the parties. So, if you are in a case, you don't want to suffer these sanctions. Believe me, and the first sanction that the judge could have imposed in this case was by not letting the report in. That would have been a sanction against the other side, in this case, the husband. So, if you're in a case and you disclose something late, it's possible the judge could say "hey, this isn't trial by ambush, you're not allowed to sandbag, and I'm not letting this in at trial." There...