Rancho Bernardo Development Co. v. Superior Court

We are called upon by this petition to construe the statutory language of Code of Civil Procedure section 2034, subdivision (i)(2) , which limits the amount of the fee an expert witness may charge for the taking of his deposition by an adverse party. The limitation in issue is that the expert may charge no more than “the fee charged the party who retained the expert.” Petitioner seeks to reverse a discovery order which denied petitioner’s request for relief from allegedly excessive fee charges. Subdivision (i)(2) of section 2034, adopted in 1986 and substantially revised in 1990, has not as yet received judicial interpretation. We issued an order to show cause to the superior court and real party in interest (hereinafter referred to as plaintiff) because we believe the writ petition raises issues of general concern which should receive early resolution. Having now been fully briefed by the parties and oral argument having been waived, we conclude the trial court’s order was correct and hence deny the petition. (See 8 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (3d ed. 1985) Extraordinary Writs, § 118, pp. 753-757.)

Background

This is an action by a condominium homeowners association against…