BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2427
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 18, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2427 (Chau) - As Amended May 4, 2016
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|Policy |Judiciary |Vote:|10 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill streamlines the use of postmortem images in civil
actions and ensures timely production of expert witness reports
before depositions. Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes the use of postmortem images in a civil action or
proceeding that relates to the death of the deceased person,
if:
a) A coroner receives written authorization from a legal
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heir or representative of the deceased person before the
action is filed or while the action is pending. To verify
identity, one of the following must be provided to the
coroner: (1) a declaration under penalty of perjury that
the individual is a legal heir or representative, and a
valid form of identification; or (2) a certified death
certificate.
b) A subpoena is issued by a party who is a legal heir or
representative of the deceased person in a pending civil
action.
2)Requires that any materials or category of materials,
including any electronically stored information, and any
discoverable reports and writings of an expert trial witness,
demanded to be produced in the deposition notice be produced
no later than 3 business days before the deposition.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Likely negligible fiscal impact related to enforcement of the
requirement to provide documentation under penalty of perjury.
COMMENTS:
Postmortem Images. Under current law, the only path for civil
litigants to obtain postmortem images is through a court order.
This bill would allow a legal heir or representative to obtain
postmortem images from the coroner by either validating their
identity as a legal heir or representative, or by subpoena.
Expert Witness Reports. This bill requires expert witnesses to
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provide their reports and writings at least three days before a
deposition. This is intended to provide time for the attorneys
to review the documents in preparation of the expert's
deposition, thus encouraging more efficient depositions, which
may reduce litigation costs for all parties.
This bill, co-sponsored by the Consumer Attorneys of California
and the California Defense Counsel, represents an effort between
the civil plaintiffs' and defense bar to jointly sponsor civil
procedure legislation that creates efficiencies in civil
litigation and improves the process for litigants, attorneys,
and the courts.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081