Black v. County of Orange CA4/3
Plaintiff Mark Black, a Tustin police officer, alleges he suffered injuries when a plastic bottle in a trash can exploded while he was at the Orange County jail delivering an arrestee for booking. Black sued the County of Orange (the County) for his injuries. Both sides sought the assistance of expert witnesses to determine the cause of the explosion.
The trial court entered an order disqualifying the County’s expert witness, Tom Maricich and the County’s attorneys, Wagner & Pelayes. The court found Maricich improperly consulted Neil Spingarn in formulating his opinions after Spingarn had previously undergone a retention interview with Black’s counsel during which confidential information concerning the facts and theories of Black’s case was disclosed. On appeal the County contends: (1) the trial court erred in finding confidential information materially related to the case was provided to Spingarn by Black’s counsel; (2) it rebutted the presumption that confidential m
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