diff --git a/src/main/java/org/breedinginsight/brapps/importer/services/processors/ExperimentProcessor.java b/src/main/java/org/breedinginsight/brapps/importer/services/processors/ExperimentProcessor.java
index 426c78293..e5ec4a5c5 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/breedinginsight/brapps/importer/services/processors/ExperimentProcessor.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/breedinginsight/brapps/importer/services/processors/ExperimentProcessor.java
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@
 import org.breedinginsight.services.ProgramLocationService;
 import org.breedinginsight.services.exceptions.DoesNotExistException;
 import org.breedinginsight.services.exceptions.MissingRequiredInfoException;
+import org.breedinginsight.services.exceptions.UnprocessableEntityException;
 import org.breedinginsight.services.exceptions.ValidatorException;
 import org.breedinginsight.utilities.Utilities;
 import org.jooq.DSLContext;
@@ -85,6 +86,7 @@ public class ExperimentProcessor implements Processor {
             "If you’re trying to add these units to the experiment, please create a new environment" +
             " with all appropriate experiment units (NOTE: this will generate new Observation Unit Ids " +
             "for each experiment unit).";
+    private static final String MULTIPLE_EXP_TITLES = "File contains more than one Experiment Title";
     private static final String MIDNIGHT = "T00:00:00-00:00";
     private static final String TIMESTAMP_PREFIX = "TS:";
     private static final String TIMESTAMP_REGEX = "^"+TIMESTAMP_PREFIX+"\\s*";
@@ -476,7 +478,12 @@ private void initNewBrapiData(List<BrAPIImport> importRows, List<Column<?>> phen
         for (int rowNum = 0; rowNum < importRows.size(); rowNum++) {
             ExperimentObservation importRow = (ExperimentObservation) importRows.get(rowNum);
 
-            PendingImportObject<BrAPITrial> trialPIO = fetchOrCreateTrialPIO(program, user, commit, importRow, expNextVal);
+            PendingImportObject<BrAPITrial> trialPIO = null;
+            try {
+                trialPIO = fetchOrCreateTrialPIO(program, user, commit, importRow, expNextVal);
+            } catch (UnprocessableEntityException e) {
+                throw new HttpStatusException(HttpStatus.UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY, e.getMessage());
+            }
 
             String expSeqValue = null;
             if (commit) {
@@ -552,7 +559,6 @@ private ValidationErrors validateFields(List<BrAPIImport> importRows, Validation
         for (int rowNum = 0; rowNum < importRows.size(); rowNum++) {
             ExperimentObservation importRow = (ExperimentObservation) importRows.get(rowNum);
             PendingImport mappedImportRow = mappedBrAPIImport.get(rowNum);
-
             if (StringUtils.isNotBlank(importRow.getGid())) { // if GID is blank, don't bother to check if it is valid.
                 validateGermplasm(importRow, validationErrors, rowNum, mappedImportRow.getGermplasm());
             }
@@ -981,10 +987,12 @@ private PendingImportObject<ProgramLocation> fetchOrCreateLocationPIO(Experiment
         return pio;
     }
 
-    private PendingImportObject<BrAPITrial> fetchOrCreateTrialPIO(Program program, User user, boolean commit, ExperimentObservation importRow, Supplier<BigInteger> expNextVal) {
+    private PendingImportObject<BrAPITrial> fetchOrCreateTrialPIO(Program program, User user, boolean commit, ExperimentObservation importRow, Supplier<BigInteger> expNextVal) throws UnprocessableEntityException {
         PendingImportObject<BrAPITrial> pio;
         if (trialByNameNoScope.containsKey(importRow.getExpTitle())) {
             pio = trialByNameNoScope.get(importRow.getExpTitle());
+        } else if (!trialByNameNoScope.isEmpty()) {
+            throw new UnprocessableEntityException(MULTIPLE_EXP_TITLES);
         } else {
             UUID id = UUID.randomUUID();
             String expSeqValue = null;