GOLFLAND ENTERTAINMENT CENTERS, INC. v. Superior Court

In August 2000, when he was 10 years old, David Nunez almost died in an accident that occurred while he was riding a “bumper boat” on the premises of defendant and petitioner Golfland Entertainment Centers, Inc. David’s mother, Arlyn Nunez, individually and as guardian ad litem for David and his siblings, filed a lawsuit alleging personal, injury and emotional distress. Dale Baumbach, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist, concluded the boy suffered brain damage due to oxygen deprivation during the near-drowning. In the course of discovery, petitioner demanded that David submit to a mental examination by a neuropsychologist of its choosing, Randall Epperson, Ph.D. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2032.)

Because the parties could not agree on the ground rules for Dr. Epperson’s examination, petitioner filed a motion to compel compliance with its demand. Ultimately, on December 9, 2002, the trial court entered an order providing: (1) Dr. Epperson “may take a history from DAVID NUNEZ, but may not require or elicit narrative responses”; (2) “Plaintiffs’ counsel as well as [petitioner’s] counsel may attend the examination, but no third parties, including relatives, counsel or persons other than the…