Reliance Materials

Reliance materials are the documents, data, studies and records that an expert witness reviewed or relied on in forming the opinions given in a case. The other side is generally entitled to see them, and fights over what must be disclosed are common in asbestos litigation.

Origin

Federal Rule of Evidence 703 allows experts to base opinions on facts or data that experts in the field would reasonably rely on, even if those facts are not themselves admissible. The federal civil rules require a retained expert's report to list the facts or data considered, and many states have similar requirements.

Significance in Asbestos Context

Asbestos experts typically rely on medical records, pathology slides, deposition testimony, product data, industrial hygiene studies and published medical literature. Reliance lists can run to thousands of items. Each side scrutinizes the other's materials to find gaps or weak points, such as an expert who did not review key medical records, or who relied on studies funded for litigation. Disputes also arise over whether drafts, communications with lawyers and underlying study data must be produced; the rules on this differ between federal and state courts. A plaintiff's reliance materials often include company documents showing what manufacturers knew. For families, the practical point is that the records you provide may become part of what experts review.

Example Sentence

The defense requested the reliance materials for the plaintiff's pathologist, including the slides and every article cited in her report.

Related Terms

Expert Witness, Daubert Standard, Discovery, Learned Treatise, Admissibility, State of the Art Evidence

Notes

• Give your lawyer complete medical records and work history; experts can only rely on what they receive.
• Expect that records you hand over may be shared with the other side's experts.