APPOINTMENT BY AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PARTIES AS A SINGLE EXPERT

This type of appointment takes place where parties to a dispute agree that there is a need for expert evidence in order to resolve a dispute and in order to either comply with the rules of a particular Court or minimise the costs associated with resolving the dispute may agree to jointly instruct an expert with a view to both parties accepting the opinion of that expert as the prevailing view to be provided to the Court. The fact that parties have agreed to instruct a single expert does not mean that they are prevented from instructing their own expert in accordance with (a) above, in circumstances where they do not accept the view expressed by the single expert in his or her report. In those circumstances the views of the experts may be competing and the Court will have to determine which should be preferred and in some cases an expert on behalf of one party requires the permission of the Court before such a report may be relied upon.