ARIEL TAYLOR v. COCA COLA BOTTLING COMPANY, ET AL. - Articles

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ARIEL TAYLOR v. COCA COLA BOTTLING COMPANY, ET AL.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Oct 30, 2023

Court: TN Workers Comp Appeals Board

Attorneys 1: Garett P. Franklyn, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the employer-appellant, Coca Cola Bottling Company

Attorneys 2: Andrea Stilgenbauer, Hendersonville, Tennessee, for the employee-appellee, Ariel Taylor

Judge(s): GODKIN

In this interlocutory appeal, the employer asserts the trial court erred in concluding it failed to comply with a scheduling order and in excluding its vocational expert. The employee suffered a compensable injury to his back in 2019 and settled his initial claim for benefits. Thereafter, when his initial compensation period expired, the employee filed a petition for additional disability benefits. After a scheduling hearing, the trial court issued a scheduling order that included one deadline for the disclosure of expert witnesses and a later deadline for the identification of testifying witnesses. There was no deadline listed in the scheduling order for the exchange of expert reports. After the scheduling hearing, the employer’s counsel e-mailed counsel for the employee to schedule a vocational evaluation with the employer’s vocational expert, whom it identified in the e-mail. The employee attended the requested expert vocational evaluation, and the employer sent a copy of the expert’s completed report after the deadline for the disclosure of expert witnesses but before the deadlines for expert depositions and the identification of testifying witnesses. The employee filed a motion to exclude the testimony of the vocational expert, and the court granted the motion, concluding that the employer had not complied with the scheduling order. The employer has appealed. Upon careful consideration of the record and arguments of counsel, we reverse the trial court’s order excluding the employer’s vocational expert and remand the case.

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