Rodriguez v. Clarke

BATTAGLIA, J. In this medical malpractice action, Respondents, James N. Clarke and his wife, Joan Dietrich-Clarke (the “Clarkes”), sued Petitioners, Alejandro Rodriguez, M.D., Sharin F. Engineer, M.D., Central Maryland Urology Associates, P.A., and Howard County General Hospital, 1 in the Circuit Court for Howard County. Three years after the complaint was origi ⁴² nally filed, and just two weeks before trial, the trial judge granted summary judgment to Petitioners. In concluding that judgment was appropriate as a matter of law, the judge determined that the Clarkes had failed to comply with multiple requests to arrange the deposition of their medical experts and that the Petitioners had been unable to depose any of those witnesses so that discovery had been thwarted. She concluded that the experts’ testimony at trial would be barred, and without such testimony in support of their medical malpractice action, the Clarkes would be unable to sustain their burden of proof.

The Court of Special Appeals reversed the entry of summary judgment for Petitioners, who now present the following two questions for our review: 1. Whether a party may be permitted to violate Maryland Rule 2-402 in failing to appropriately identify expert witnesses because the lower trial court’s scheduling order does not explicitly mandate that Rule 2-402 be followed. 2. Whether summary judgment should have been affirmed by the Court of Special Appeals given that the Court of Special Appeals identified a proper basis for summary judgment. We granted certiorari, Rodriguez v. Clarke, 396 Md. 12 , 912 A.2d 648 (2006), and shall reverse the decision of the Court of Special Appeals and hold that summary judgment was properly granted on behalf of the Petitioners.

I. Background On October 23, 2001, James Clarke went to the emergency room of Howard County General Hospital, Inc., complaining of nausea, vomiting and a sharp right-sided abdominal pain. A CT scan 2 confirmed that Mr. Clarke was suffering from a kidney stone, and he was scheduled for surgery the next day ⁴³ by Alejandro Rodriguez, M.D., a urologist employed by Central Maryland Urology Associates, P.A. While waiting to be examined by Dr. Rodriguez, Mr. Clarke experienced crushing chest pains, prompting the attending physician to order an EKG, 3 the results of which, Mr.Clarke was told, were normal. During the morning of October 24, in preparation for the kidney stone procedure, Dr. Rodriguez ordered another EKG, which was interpreted by a cardiologist, George Steward Groman, M.D., a physician employed by HPV Heart, P.A. Later that same day, Dr. Rodriguez, as the attending urologist, performed the kidney stone procedure with the assistance of Dr. Sharin F. Engineer, an anesthesiologist, and the Hospital discharged Mr. Clarke a day later with directions to follow up with his primary care physician. On Christmas Day Mr. Clarke suffered a massive heart attack.

He was initially taken to Saint Agnes Hospital, where the heart attack was confirmed, and then transferred to Union Memorial Hospital for by-pass surgery. The Clarkes subsequently filed a complaint, through counsel, against Dr. Rodriguez and Central Maryland Urology Associates, P.A., Dr. Engineer and his partner, Dr. John C. Payne, and the Howard County General Hospital, Inc., with the Health Claims Arbitration Office. In the first count of their complaint, the Clarkes alleged that, in failing to notice that Mr. Clarke’s EKG results were abnormal, the Petitioners breached the applicable standards of care in his treatment, which was the proximate cause of his massive heart attack, subsequent injuries, damages, and disability. In the second count of the complaint, the Clarkes also sued for loss of consortium. 4 In addition to the complaint, the Clarkes also ⁴⁴ filed, through counsel, a certificate of discovery verifying that interrogatories, requests for production of documents, and notices to take depositions were served on all parties.

The Clarkes, through counsel, amended their complaint in July of 2003, making the same allegations contained in their initial complaint and adding as defendants George Steward Groman, M.D. and HPV Heart, P.A., and also filed a notice of discovery stating that they had propounded interrogatories, requests for productions of documents, and a request to take the deposition of Dr. Groman. Without benefit of counsel, they amended their complaint for a second time in September of 2004, two years into the case, adding Thierno A. Diallo, M.D., and his company, Just Heart Cardiovascular Group, Inc., and Camellus Okwochi Ezeugwu, M.D., repeating the allegations made in their original and amended complaint. The Clarkes’ claim was removed from arbitration on May 3, 2002 and filed in the Circuit Court for Howard County on May 14, 2002. The case was originally assigned to the Honorable James B. Dudley and a trial date was set for September 17, 2003. but, due to conflicts in Judge Dudley’s schedule, was postponed to October 15, 2003.

The trial date was subsequently postponed two more times by consent of the parties, and the case was reassigned to the Honorable Diane O. Leasure. The Circuit Court also scheduled a pre-trial settlement conference, pursuant to Maryland Rule 2-504, on November 3, 2003, although that date also was postponed three times before the final scheduling order was issued on July 12, 2004. The final scheduling order established a trial date of August 22, 2005 and required that all of the Clarkes’ expert witnesses be designated by September 30, 2004; that all the Defendants’ expert witnesses be designated by November 30, 2004; that all rebuttal expert witnesses be designated by December 31, 2004; that all discovery be completed by May 30, 2005; and that all dispositive motions be filed by June 7, 2005. The Hospital propounded interrogatories in which the Clarkes were asked for a list of the medical experts they ⁴⁵ expected to call at trial and for a summary of their experts’ opinions.

The Clarkes responded that “[e]xpert witnesses will be identified in accordance with a Scheduling Order.” Counsel for Dr. Rodriguez, Dr. Engineer, Dr. Payne, and Central Maryland Urology also propounded interrogatories to the Clarkes and noted the depositions of both Mr. and Mrs. Clarke, as well as that of Dr. Shaughnessy, one of the experts designated by the Clarkes. In Dr. Engineer’s interrogatories, he also asked the Clarkes to specify each expert witness they expected to call at trial and to describe the opinion each expert was to give, to which the Clarkes responded by referring to their expert designation, to be filed pursuant to the scheduling order. Dr. Groman and HPV Heart subsequently answered the Clarkes’ interrogatories and request for production of documents. Dr. Groman also propounded interrogatories and requests for production of documents to the Clarkes in which he also asked the Clarkes for a list of their expert witnesses and for a summary of their expert opinions, to which the Clarkes responded that “[ejxpert witnesses will be identified in accordance with the Scheduling Order.” On October 24, 2003, the Hospital filed a pre-trial statement in which two expert witnesses intended to be called at trial were designated, with the caveat that “[bjecause [the Clarkes] have not made their experts available to testify at depositions, this Defendant reserves the right to designate additional experts, which it may call to testify at trial, after such time as [the Clarke s] make their experts available for deposition.” The Clarkes filed their Preliminary Designation of Expert Witnesses on December 29, 2003, which listed the following persons: Dr. Gary Vigilante, identified as an expert in the field of cardiology, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Dr. John D. Pigott, identified as an expert in the field of cardiovascular surgery, located in New Orleans, Louisiana; Dr. Allen Johnson, identified as an expert in the field of cardiology, located in La Jolla, California; Dr. Louis Mispireta, identified as an expert in the field of cardiovascular surgery, located ⁴⁶ in Baltimore, Maryland; Dr. Thomas Shaughnessy, identified as an expert in the field of anesthesiology, located in Burlingame, California; Charles Smolkin, identified as an expert in the field of adult vocational rehabilitation, located in Baltimore, Maryland; Mona Yudkoff, R.N., identified as an expert life care planner, located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania; and Dr. Jerome Staller, identified as an expert economist, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

After each expert designation, the Clarkes noted that the expert “will be provided for deposition at a mutually convenient date, time and location.” The Clarkes filed, through counsel, a Pretrial Statement on July 6, 2004, identifying the same experts, with the addition of Dr. Michael M anyak, identified as an expert in the field of urology, located in Chevy Chase, Maryland. On July 29, 2004, counsel for the Clarkes moved for leave to withdraw his appearance “[d]ue to facts and circumstances beyond counsel’s control” and “irreconcilable differences that make counsel no longer able to proceed with this matter on behalf of the [the Clarke s],” which the judge granted. The Clarkes subsequently requested an extension of their deadlines to designate expert witnesses to December 31, 2004, to enable them to obtain new counsel, which the Circuit Court granted on August 12, 2004. On August 16, 2004, Dr. Engineer, Dr. Payne, Dr. Rodriguez and Central Maryland Urology Associates, PA, and the Hospital, as well as Dr. Groman and HPV Heart, P.A., together, filed motions to dismiss, alleging that the Certificate of Merit filed by the Clarkes did not comport with the requirements of Section 3-2A-04 (b) of the Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article, (1974, 2002 Repl.Vol.), 5 because it ⁴⁷ contained only a blanket statement that failed to specify which individual health care providers breached the standard of care.

The Clarkes, pro se, filed an opposition to the motion to dismiss, alleging that Section 3-2A-04 (b) did not require that the certificate of merit specify the name of each defendant in the case, and that D’Angelo v. St. Agnes Healthcare, Inc., 157 Md.App. 631 , 853 A.2d 813 (2004), cert. denied, 384 Md. 158 , 862 A.2d 993 (2004), in which the Court of Special Appeals held that parties must specify the names of the alleged negligent healthcare providers, was filed after they had filed their initial complaint, and therefore, was not applicable to their Certificate of Merit. The Clarkes also filed, without the benefit of counsel, a Motion to Compel Discovery on August 27, 2004, 6 in which they alleged that the Hospital had failed to adequately respond to interrogatories that requested information regarding all of the physical examinations and tests performed at the Hospital and the results thereof and, more specifically, regarding what was done in the emergency room. In response, the Hospital alleged that it had properly provided all requested information. The Circuit Court denied the Clarkes’ motion on December 4, 2004.

The Clarkes also filed, pro se, an Amended Preliminary Designation of Expert Witnesses on December 17, 2004, adding a tenth expert witness, Dr. Randolph Whipps, identified as an expert in the field of cardiology, located in Baltimore, Maryland. On December 21, 2004, counsel for the Hospital sent a letter to the Clarke s requesting that they “[p]lease provide dates for the depositions of [their] expert witnesses immediately.” On December 27, 2004, counsel for Dr. Rodriguez, Dr. Payne, ⁴⁸ Dr. Engineer and Central Maryland Urology also sent a letter to the Clarkes requesting that they “[pjlease provide defense counsel with deposition dates for all experts identified in their amended preliminary designation of expert witnesses.” On January 12, 2005, counsel for the Hospital sent a subsequent letter stating that “I have previously requested that you provide dates for the depositions of the expert witnesses whom you have designated ... I have not yet received any dates,” and requesting that the Clarkes “[p]lease provide them promptly.” Counsel for the other Petitioners sent similar letters to the Clarkes on January 25, 2005, and February 2, 2005. When the Clarkes failed to respond to any of the requests, the Hospital filed a Motion to Compel Discovery on February 25, 2005, three months before the discovery deadline, requesting that the Clarkes be compelled to provide deposition dates in light of the fast-approaching May 30, 2005 discovery deadline.

Dr. Engineer, Dr. Rodriguez, Dr. Payne, and Central Maryland Urology also filed a motion to compel discovery on March 4, 2005, requesting that the Court order the Clarkes to identify deposition dates for their expert witnesses. Dr. Croman also filed a motion to compel on that day, adopting and incorporating the Hospital’s arguments. Although they did not respond to the requests to designate dates, the Clarkes did address letters to counsel for each of the Petitioners 7 requesting that they identify dates for the deposition of their expert witnesses. The Petitioners responded by informing the Clarkes that they would “be happy to provide you with deposition dates as soon as the depositions of the Plaintiffs’ experts are scheduled.” The Clarkes, on their own, subsequently filed three separate motions to compel discovery, alleging that the Petitioners had failed to provide dates to depose their expert witnesses and ⁴⁹ requesting that they be ordered do so.

The Petitioners opposed the Clarkes’ motion to compel alleging that “the [Clarkes’] motion is filed in an attempt to shift the Court’s attention away from the fact that Plaintiffs have refused to provide deposition dates for their expert witnesses to enable the Defendants to prepare a defense in this case,” that they are “prepared to make its expert witnesses available for deposition as soon as counsel has had an opportunity to depose the Plaintiffs’ expert witnesses,” and that the Clarkes have not made a good faith effort to resolve discovery disputes as required by Maryland Rule 2-431. 8 Finally, two months after the discovery deadline had passed, and one month before trial, Petitioners filed a Supplemental Motion to Compel Discovery, alleging that they had been severely prejudiced in their ability to prepare a defense by not having the opportunity to depose the Clarkes’ experts, and requesting that the case be dismissed pursuant to Maryland Rule 2-433. 9 On July 11, 2005, the Honorable Diane O. Leasure of the Circuit Court for Howard County held a motions hearing, at which all parties were represented by counsel. Counsel for the Clarkes initially requested a postponement of the trial in order to give him an opportunity to become more familiar with the case, depose witnesses, and ⁵⁰ otherwise prepare for the trial. Judge Leasure denied the motion, explaining: [Tjhere’s just not any additional time that I can give, especially as it relates to the summary judgment motion and the motion to dismiss. Because, quite honestly, depending on the ruling on those motions, you might not need to go any further anyway until the certificate[ 10 ] issue is taken care of; so that’s an issue that needs to be resolved and needs to be resolved now.

Counsel for the Clarkes thereupon withdrew his appearance, and the Clarkes represented themselves for the remainder of the hearing. Judge Leasure proceeded to hear argument from the Petitioners on their motions to compel discovery, whereupon counsel for the Hospital explained that, like the other Petitioners, he had propounded interrogatories to the Clarkes several years earlier, “[ajsking for a designation of experts to be called, the opinions they hold, and the basis for those opinions,” but that the Clarkes’ response to the interrogatory “was that expert witnesses will be identified in accordance with the scheduling order of this Court.” When the Clarkes’ expert designation was finally filed, however, “the description of their opinions was not forthcoming;” “[ijnstead, the designation stated that they would be produced for deposition.” Counsel explicated that the failure of the Clarke’s to respond fully to the Petitioners’ interrogatories, in addition to their failure to supply dates for the depositions of their expert witnesses, warranted the sanction of dismissal. Judge Leasure postponed ruling on the merits of the motions to dismiss and motions to compel discovery until Friday, July 15, in order to give the Clarkes an opportunity to file an amended Certificate of Merit comporting with the requirements set forth by Section 3-2A04 (b) of the Maryland Courts ⁵¹ and Judicial Proceedings Article. Before the Clarkes filed their Amended Certificate of Merit, the Petitioners filed a Motion for Summary Judgment alleging that “[the Clarkes] have failed to respond to numerous requests for deposition dates for their identified experts,” and, “[s]ince the May 30, 2005 discovery deadline has passed and [the Clarkes] have no experts in this matter,” “[the Clarkes] are unable to sustain their burden in this case.” The Circuit Court subsequently held another motions hearing on July 29, 2005, only two weeks before trial, to address the various motions to compel and motions for summary judgment.

All parties again were represented by counsel at the hearing. 11 Counsel for Howard County General Hospital iterated its argument that, despite repeated requests, the Clarkes had repeatedly failed to cooperate in identifying dates for the depositions of their expert witnesses and, in light of the fact that it was now two weeks before trial, depositions could not be taken. Counsel for Dr. Rodriguez, Central Maryland Urology Associates, Dr. Engineer and Dr. Payne also contended that if another postponement were granted for the trial date, his calendar, and the calendars of the other counsel, would require a postponement of another year, which was not fair to any of the Petitioners. He further argued that the Clarkes had no expert testimony to meet their burden of proof, and because the discovery deadline had passed, no experts could be deposed without leave of court, which had not been requested. Counsel for Dr. Groman and HPV Heart added that the case had been in stasis for over three years at that point, that there had been several postponements, several amendments to the scheduling order, and changes to accommodate the departure of the Clarkes’ counsel, and despite these attempts to accommodate the parties’ schedules, the Clarkes had completely ignored the scheduling order, and therefore summary judgment was appropriate. ⁵² In response, the Clarkes’ counsel argued that the Petitioners were at fault for not filing Notices to Take Depositions, and that there was no rule requiring the Clarkes to respond to letters regarding dates for depositions.

Thus, the Clarkes’ counsel argued that they had not failed to comply with any discovery rules and, -without any failure, sanctions, such as dismissal, were not permitted under Maryland Rule 2-432. Further, the Clarkes’ counsel posited that one of their experts, Dr. Shaughnessy, an anesthesiologist, had, in fact, been deposed, 12 and therefore should be allowed to testify. After listening to oral argument, Judge Leasure concluded that, despite the Petitioners’ good faith efforts to schedule the depositions of the Clarkes’ expert witnesses, the Clarkes had totally failed to respond to those requests, and that it would be “prejudicial ... two weeks before trial, at the very last minute, for [the Petitioners] to find out who the experts are going to be, and then to have to somehow—even though it should have been done long before now—try to take depositions.” Judge Leasure, therefore, granted the Petitioners’ motions for summary judgment finding that “there’s no dispute as to any genuine fact, and the [Petitioners] are entitled to judgment as a matter of law, given the fact that this case requires expert testimony, and that has not been adequately presented.” After Judge Leasure issued her ruling, the Clarkes’ counsel posed the question whether counsel for the Petitioners were disputing whether the deposition of Dr. Shaughnessy had been taken. Counsel for Dr. Rodriguez, Central Maryland Urology Associates, Dr. Engineer and Dr. Payne responded that, although they did not dispute that the deposition was taken, the testimony it proffered did not address all of the defendants in the case, that Dr. Shaughnessy had not indicated his agreement to testify at trial, and that he was never definitively designated by the Clarkes as an expert witness at trial.

Counsel for the Hospital further added that they were just ⁵³ learning that Dr. Shaughnessy would definitely be called as an expert at trial, and that, before that point, Petitioners only were aware that he was on a preliminary list that was going to be reduced. Counsel for the Hospital continued by arguing that it was too late to announce during the hearing, two weeks before trial, that Dr. Shaughnessy was going to be called at trial. Judge Leasure then explicated for the parties that, in striking the Clarkes’ expert witness testimony and entering summary judgment, she had stated that the Clarkes’ expert witnesses were not “properly designated,” and that “really is the basis of the ruling.” The Clarkes, pro se, subsequently filed a motion for reconsideration alleging that the constant rescheduling of the trial date, which the Clarke’s alleged were all due to conflicts in the Judges’ schedules, and the Court’s denial of their motion to continue the trial date, inhibited their ability to represent themselves. The Circuit Court denied the motion.

The Clarkes then filed an appeal, pro se, to the Court of Special Appeals. The intermediate appellate court reversed the summary judgment and determined, in an unreported opinion, that the scheduling order in this case did not require the parties to include “all information specified in Maryland Rule 2—402(f)(1),” 13 which requires parties to specify by interrogatories all expert witnesses to be called, the subject matter on which the expert is expected to testify, the substance of their findings, and their opinions based on those findings, and without this requirement in the scheduling order, the Clarkes had not failed to comply with the scheduling order when they failed, in their interrogatory answers, to expound upon the ⁵⁴ subject matter upon which their expert witnesses were going to testify. The Court of Special Appeals also held that the C larkes’ failure to provide their experts for depositions did not constitute a breach of any Maryland Rule and asserted that the Petitioners could have filed notices to take the depositions and subpoenaed the various witnesses to attend. Thus, the intermediate appellate court concluded, absent any violation of the Maryland Rules, the Clarkes’ expert witnesses should not have been stricken, and summary judgment should not have been entered for the Petitioners.

Before this Court, the Petitioners argue that, underlying the Circuit Court’s grant of summary judgment was the judge’s decision to strike the Clarkes’ experts for their failure to comply with discovery requests. Further, Petitioners maintain that because medical experts were necessary for the Clarkes to sustain their burden of proof, they could not establish a prima facie case of medical malpractice, and summary judgment was warranted. In support, Petitioners cite Aventis Pasteur, Inc. v. Skevofilax, 396 Md. 405 , 914 A.2d 113 (2007), in which this Court held that summary judgment is appropriate in medical malpractice actions where there are no expert witnesses to testify to the issues of standard of care and/or causation. Petitioners further contend that, in light of the Clarkes’ complete failure to cooperate in the discovery process, the entry of summary judgment for the Petitioners was proper in light of the stated goals of the Maryland Rules of Discovery to avoid protracted delays.

Conversely, the Clarkes, representing themselves, maintain that they did not violate any rules of discovery in this case because the Maryland Rules do not require parties to respond to letters; thus, the entry of summary judgment for the Petitioners was unwarranted. The Clarkes contend that there was no discovery violation here because the Petitioners never filed notices to take the depositions of the Clarkes’ expert witnesses identifying the date, place and time for the depositions. The Clarkes assert that the sanctions provided in Maryland Rules 2-432 14 and 2-433 apply only when a party ⁵⁵ actually notes a deposition and a witness fails to appear. The Clarkes argue that it is the Petitioners who have violated the discovery rules by filing their motion for summary judgment well after the scheduling order’s deadline for filing dispositive motions.

Further, the Clarkes allege that, under this Court’s holding in Broadwater v. Arch, 267 Md. 329 , 297 A.2d 671 (1972), we have not permitted summary judgment to be granted for failure to comply with the discovery rules. The Clarkes further posit that, even if summary judgment was a permissible sanction, pursuant to the holding in Lakewood Engineering & Manufacturing Co. v. Quinn, 91 Md.App. 375 , 604 A.2d 535 (1992), it should only be awarded when there has been a willful or contumacious discovery violation, which the Clarkes contend is lacking on their part. The Petitioners rejoin that the Clarke’s reliance on Broad-water is misplaced in light of this Court’s more recent holding in Aventis Pasteur, Inc., 396 Md. at 405, 914 A.2d at 113 , in which we determined that summary judgment was appropriate when the plaintiff had failed to designate expert witnesses to testify on the issue of causation. Petitioners argue that Broadwater is further distinguished from this case in that the Broadwater court recognized that expert witnesses may not have been necessary in that case for the plaintiffs to meet their burden of proof.

Petitioners contend that, unlike Broad-water, expert witnesses are fundamental to the Clarkes’ burden of proof in this case. The Clarkes, however, maintain that Aventis is distinguishable from this case in that it addressed the issue of insufficient expert testimony to establish a prima facie case, not discovery sanctions, which is the gravamen of this case. The Clarkes ⁵⁶ further argue that, unlike in Aventis, where the plaintiffs failed to identify any expert witness, the Clarke’s in this ease have identified numerous expert witnesses to be called at trial. 15 II. Analysis This medical malpractice case implicates a triumvirate of expert witness discovery failings, beginning with the Clarkes’ expert designation, progressing to their response to the interrogatories requesting information about their experts, and crescendoing in their failure to respond to the Petitioners’ requests for depositions dates.

We are called upon in this case to determine whether the Circuit Court properly sanctioned the Clarkes for their discovery violations by precluding all expert witness testimony, resulting in the entry of summary judgment for the Petitioners. Thus, our review is twofold—we must first determine whether discovery sanctions were appropriately addressed to the Clarkes, and if so, the Circuit Court properly granted summary judgment for the Petitioners. A. Sanctions Undergirding the grant of summary judgment in this case was the Circuit Court’s decision to preclude the testimony at trial of all of the Clarkes’ expert witnesses based upon the Clarkes’ failure to comply with the Petitioners’ requests for discovery. Trial judges are vested with great discretion in applying sanctions for discovery failures.

N. ⁵⁷ River Ins. Co. v. Mayor of Baltimore, 343 Md. 34, 47 , 680 A.2d 480, 486-87 (1996); Starfish Condo. Ass’n v. Yorkridge Serv. Corp., 295 Md. 693, 712 , 458 A.2d 805, 815 (1983); Klein v. Weiss, 284 Md. 36, 56 , 395 A.2d 126, 137 (1978); Mason v. Wolfing, 265 Md. 234, 236 , 288 A.2d 880, 881 (1972).

Moreover, the decision to grant sanctions is not limited to cases in which the trial judge has found the discovery violations to be willful or contumacious. N. River Ins. Co., 343 Md. at 47 , 680 A.2d at 486-87 ; Lynch v. R.E. Tull & Sons, Inc., 251 Md. 260, 261 , 247 A.2d 286, 287 (1968). We explicated in Mason, 265 Md. at 235 , 288 A.2d at 882 , that “[e]ven when the ultimate penalty of dismissing the case or entering a default judgment is invoked, it cannot be disturbed on appeal without a clear showing that this discretion was abused.” See also Kelch v. Mass Transit Admin., 287 Md. 223, 229 , 411 A.2d 449, 453 (1980), quoting Balt.

Transit Co. v. Mezzanotti, 227 Md. 8, 13-14 , 174 A.2d 768, 771 (1961). Thus, we review the Circuit Court’s determination of discovery sanctions under an abuse of discretion standard. N. River Ins. Co., 343 Md. at 47 , 680 A.2d at 486-87 ; Starfish Condo.

Ass’n, 295 Md. at 712, 458 A.2d at 815 . The discovery process is governed by Chapter 400 of Title 2 of the Maryland Rules. The fundamental objective of discovery is to advance “the sound and expeditious administration of justice” by “eliminating], as far as possible, the necessity of any party to litigation going to trial in a confused or muddled state of mind, concerning the facts that gave rise to the litigation.” Mezzanotti, 227 Md. at 13 , 174 A.2d at 771 . See also Ehrlich v. Grove, 396 Md. 550, 560 , 914 A.2d 783, 790 (2007); E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. v. Forma-Pack, Inc., 351 Md. 396, 405 , 718 A.2d 1129, 1133 (1998); Klein, 284 Md. at 55 , 395 A.2d at 137 .

To secure access to expert witness information during the discovery process, options include the use of interrogatories pursuant to Rule 2-402(f)(l) and depositions, the logistics of which should be the subject of agreement, in order to forestall a waste of time and resources on the part of both litigants and ⁵⁸ counsel. In the absence of such agreement, a formal Notice to Take Deposition would need to be issued pursuant to Maryland Rule 2-412(a). 16 When the deponent is outside of the State, the Maryland Rules provide that the deposition may be held in a foreign jurisdiction “in accordance with the law of the place where the deposition is held,” Maryland Rule 2-413(a)(2); thus, the process becomes more complicated, requiring parties to take additional steps, including: subpoenaing the expert witnesses and securing a process server and, where necessary, retaining local counsel to enforce the subpoena; determining the date, time, and place and feasible location to hold the deposition; retaining a local court reporter and person capable of administering an oath in that jurisdiction; traveling to the foreign locale to take the deposition; and possibly pursuing through local counsel avenues to enforce the subpoena and compel the presence of the deponent. Moreover, should the deponent fail to appear, expenses of the aborted attempt may be shifted to either of the parties, depending on whether the deponent had been served successfully. Maryland Rules 2-434(a) & (b). 17 ⁵⁹ At the outset of the discovery process, “[u]nless otherwise ordered by the County Administrative Judge for one or more specified categories of actions, the court shall enter a scheduling order in every civil action.” Maryland Rule 2-504(a).

Subsection (b)(1) requires the court to set one or more dates by which each party shall file the notice concerning computer-generated evidence, by which all discovery must be completed, and by which each party shall identify each person whom the party expects to call as an expert witness at trial, including all information specified in Rule 2-402(f)(l). Rule 2-402(f)(l) requires a party to disclose a breadth of information relative to expert witnesses, including the identity of: each person, other than a party, whom the other party expects to call as an expert witness at trial; to state the subject matter on which the expert is expected to testify; to state the substance of the findings and the opinions to which the expert is expected to testify and a summary of the grounds for each opinion; and to produce any written report made by the expert concerning those findings and opinions. Maryland Rule 2—402(f)(1). Albeit important tools to minimize discovery disputes and litigation delays, scheduling orders do not expand or limit the scope or content of discovery. 18 Judge Alan M. Wilner, ⁶⁰ writing for this Court in Dorsey v. Nold, 362 Md. 241, 256 , 765 A.2d 79, 87 (2001), elucidated that Rule 2-504 is not a discovery rule.

It is not included in the Title 2, Chapter 400 rules on discovery and, except as provided in § (b)(2)(A), is not intended either to enlarge or constrict the scope of discovery. Its function, to the extent it references discovery in § (b)(1), is to provide for the setting of time limits on certain discovery events; it is, in that regard, a rule of timing, not of substance. Id. at 256, 765 A.2d at 87 . It is on this basis that we address the first certiorari question and disagree with the Court of Special Appeals in the panel’s holding that a scheduling order’s failure to reference Rule 2-402(0(1) obviated the requirement that the Clarkes provide the subject matter on which each expert was expected to testify, the substance of the findings and the opinions and a summary of the grounds for each opinion, and to produce any written report made by the experts concerning his or her findings and opinions.

Because a scheduling order could not expand or limit the scope of disclosure required by the Maryland Rules, the Circuit Court’s failure to refer to Rule 2-401(0(1) in a scheduling order cannot obviate Rule 2-504(b)(l)’s requirement that parties’ preliminary expert designations provide all of the information enumerated in Rule 2-401(0(1). Should a party fail, at any stage in the discovery process, to cooperate in providing access to discovery information, Maryland Rule 2-433 provides that trial judges may issue any of the following sanctions: (1) An order that the matters sought to be discovered, or any other designated facts shall be taken to be established for the purpose of the action in accordance with the claim of the party obtaining the order; ⁶¹ (2) An order refusing to allow the failing party to support or oppose designated claims or defenses, or prohibiting that party from introducing designated matters in evidence; or (3) An order striking out pleadings or parts thereof, or staying further proceeding until the discovery is provided, or dismissing the action or any part thereof, or entering a judgment by default that includes a determination as to liability and all relief sought by the moving party against the failing party if the court is satisfied that it has personal jurisdiction over that party. Maryland Rule 2-434(a). Additionally, if the parties have filed a motion to compel discovery, the court may also, “[i]f justice cannot otherwise be achieved, ... enter an order in compliance with Rule 15-206 treating the failure to obey the order as a contempt.” Maryland Rule 2-434(b).

Sanctions rarely come into play, however, when parties put forth good faith efforts to obtain and provide access to information needed to proceed to trial. This element of good faith, mandated by the Maryland discovery rules, is central to the entire discovery process. See Maryland Rule 2-401(c), entitled Discovery plan and stating that (“parties are encouraged to reach agreement on a plan for the scheduling and completion of discovery”); Rule 2-401(g), entitled Stipulations regarding discovery procedure and allowing parties to agree, (by stipulation, to modifications in the discovery rules when modifications would not cause a delay in scheduled court proceeding or timing specified in a court order); Rule 2-424(b), entitled Response and stating that, with respect to responses to requests for admissions of facts, “when good faith requires that a party qualify an answer or deny only part of the matter ..., the party shall specify so much of it as is true and deny or qualify the remainder.” The element of good faith also is interwoven in the Maryland Discovery Guidelines which, although not part of the Maryland Rules, have been recognized by this Court in Mayor of Baltimore v. Theiss, 354 Md. 234 , 729 A.2d 965 (1999), as ⁶² valuable tools for practitioners to interpret and apply the discovery rules; we explained: In 1986 the Board of Governors of the Maryland State Bar Association approved discovery guidelines, and the guidelines were approved by the Conference of Circuit Court Judges. Annotated Code of Maryland (1999), 1 Md. Rules at 171.

The Maryland Discovery Guidelines were revised by the Litigation Section of