Opinion
No. 79705.
June 26, 1987.
In lieu of granting leave to appeal, the Court of Appeals order of November 3, 1986, and the circuit court's protective order of October 17, 1986, are reversed for the reasons stated by Judge Shepherd in dissent in the Court of Appeals.
MCR 2.308(A)(1)(c)(i) allows a party to use a deposition for any purpose if the deponent is an expert witness. MCR 2.302(B)(4)(d) permits a party to depose an expert he or she experts to call at trial. The deposition may be taken at any time before trial.
The record before the circuit court did not support the conclusion that the deponents were not expert witnesses for the purposes of MCR 2.302(B)(4)(d) or that hardship to the plaintiff justified the preclusion of the taking of the depositions.
The case is remanded to the Ingham Circuit Court for further proceedings. In scheduling the action for trial the court is to allow a reasonable time for the scheduling and taking of the depositions. Jurisdiction is not retained. Court of Appeals No. 96046.