Lauren Barnes v. Nancy Hodys Nancy Hodys v. Lauren Barnes

Syllabus

In these consolidated cases arising from a head-on automobile collision between Lauren Barnes and Nancy Hodys, Barnes filed a petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of a Superior Court order denying her motion to modify the scheduling order and prohibiting her from either replacing a particular expert witness or disclosing any additional witnesses in the fields of toxicology, pharmacology, or other similar specialty. <br> <br>Before this Court, Barnes argued that the hearing justice abused his discretion because: (1) replacement of the expert would not prejudice Hodys (2) Barnes had a meritorious explanation for seeking to replace the expert, specifically his medical unavailability (3) the hearing justice's brief decision on the motion failed to provide any rationale for the ruling and (4) preventing Barnes from disclosing a new expert would deprive her of a fair trial. <br> <br>The Supreme Court concluded that the hearing justice's decision did not provide sufficient analysis to allow for appellate review. Accordingly, the Court quashed the order of the Superior Court and remanded with instructions to conduct a meaningful analysis of the issues raised. <br><br>