Using a Withdrawn Expert's Deposition at Trial
Under the Bearman Rule of Tenn. R. Civ. P. 32.01(3), a discovery deposition of an expert witness cannot be used at trial except to impeach the same witness at trial.
Say the defendant discloses 3 expert witnesses on the same topic. Each expert is deposed, and the 3 witnesses do not agree on critical subjects in the case. They read each other's deposition testimony. When it's time for trial, lo and behold, the defendant only wants to use the best witness.
Can you ask the testifying expert witness about the opinions of the withdrawn experts? According to Steele v. Ft. Sanders Anesthesia Group, P.C., 897 S.W.2d 270 (Tenn.App., 1994), you can. The trial judge should give a limiting instruction on the difference between impeachment and substantive evidence, but other than that, it is generally an appropriate subject of impeachment.
One sentence from the Court of Appeals that is vital to being able to adequately cross an expert:
We are of the opinion that full cross-examination of an expert can not and should not be curtailed simply by having the expert deny that he relied on any materials he reviewed and considered with which he disagrees.