Expert disclosure timing is a controversial issue in New York practice. There is no universal ruling regarding whether expert disclosure, governed by CPLR §3101(d), must be made before the Note of Issue and Certificate of Readiness have been filed. There is no rule that requires expert disclosure to be exchanged a certain period of time before trial. Both the First and Second Departments have addressed this issue and have held that courts can use their discretion to decide if the expert disclosure was done timely and if it will be precluded at trial.
Background
Generally, when a party files a Note of Issue and Certificate of Readiness, the party affirms that all the discovery proceedings have been completed. However, the wording of CPLR §3101(d) does not call for disclosure of experts to be done before a note of issue has been filed.
