Scalf

In D’Amico v. Board of Medical Examiners (1974) 11 Cal.3d 1 [ 112 Cal.Rptr. 786 , 520 P.2d 10 ] (D’Amico), the California Supreme Court noted that admissions of a party obtained through discovery receive an unusual deference in summary judgment proceedings, and, absent a credible explanation, prevail over that party’s later inconsistent declarations. {Id. at p. 22.) However, later cases have cautioned that D’Amico should not be read “as saying that admissions should be shielded from careful examination in light of the entire record.” (Price v. Wells Fargo Bank (1989) 213 Cal.App.3d 465, 482 [ 261 Cal.Rptr. 735 ] (Price); accord, Scheiding v. Dinwiddie Construction Co. (1999) 69 Cal.App.4th 64, 77-78 [ 81 Cal.Rptr.2d 360 ] (Scheiding).)

In this case, the trial court granted summary judgment based upon certain inculpatory statements by the moving party’s opponent in deposition, while refusing to consider other evidence disclosing triable issues of material fact. Because the trial court took an overly expansive view of D’Amico and an unduly myopic view of the entire record before it, we shall reverse.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The Yarbrough Litigation

This action…