Mattco Forge, Inc. v. Arthur Young & Co.

Opinion

HINZ, J.

Introduction

The litigation privilege in Civil Code section 47, subdivision (b), 1 has at times seemed to protect virtually anyone participating in litigation from subsequent suit. Nevertheless, California precedent does not authorize, and the policies underlying the privilege do not support, its use to protect a negligent expert witness from liability to the party who hired that witness. We therefore conclude that the trial court erroneously relied upon the privilege in granting summary judgment in favor of the expert witness.

The case at bench arose out of litigation in federal…