Mealey's Daubert
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February 27, 2023
Judge: Asbestos Experts’ Opinions, Some Claims Against Employer Survive
NEW ORLEANS — An asbestos plaintiff on Feb. 24 asked for emergency remand, saying her settlement with a shipyard removed the lone defendant invoking federal jurisdiction after a federal judge in Louisiana partially granted summary judgment to an employer but denied its motion to exclude two asbestos experts, saying the experts could rely on witness testimony in rendering opinions on causation.
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February 27, 2023
Asbestos-Diesel Expert’s Exclusion Affirmed In New Jersey FELA Case
TRENTON, N.J. — An expert’s testimony linking asbestos, cigarette use and exposure to diesel products to a man’s tongue and throat cancers began to fray when the asbestos claims were dismissed and lacks sufficient explanation of how he reached his causation opinion, a New Jersey appeals court said Feb. 24 in affirming the exclusion of the testimony and resulting summary judgment award to a rail company.
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February 24, 2023
Appeal Of Expert Testimony In Death Benefits Case Not Preserved, N.C. Court Rules
RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Court of Appeals found that a temporary employment company failed to preserve its argument that the North Carolina Industrial Commission improperly admitted expert testimony and dismissed its appeal of a death benefits award.
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February 24, 2023
Georgia Federal Judge Limits Expert’s Testimony In Premise Liability Injury Case
ATLANTA — A Georgia federal judge partly granted a motion to exclude an expert retained by a woman who fell inside a CVS store while working, finding that certain of his opinions constitute improper legal conclusions and others are based on unreliable information.
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February 24, 2023
1 Expert In, 1 Expert Out In Suit Alleging Exploding Phone Battery Started Fire
PITTSBURGH — A Pennsylvania federal judge agreed to exclude one expert witness retained by a man who claims that a faulty cell phone battery caused a house fire but granted Apple Inc.’s motion to exclude the expert opining on the causation of his injuries.
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February 23, 2023
New Jersey Supreme Court Adopts Daubert Standard For Criminal Cases
NEWARK, N.J. — The New Jersey Supreme Court has adopted the standards established in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. to determine the admissibility of expert evidence under New Jersey law in criminal cases, which had previously been considered under Frye v. United States.
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February 16, 2023
Bank, Management Partner Lose Bid To Exclude Experts In Racial Disparity Case
BALTIMORE — Five experts retained by a group alleging that Bank of America and a property management company engaged in racially disparate practices in maintaining properties were largely admitted by a Maryland federal judge, who ruled that while all experts can testify, certain statements are excluded as inadmissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 .
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February 16, 2023
Md. Federal Judge: SEC’s Expert Is Qualified But Part Of Testimony Is Unreliable
BALTIMORE — A federal judge in Maryland agreed to limit the testimony of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s expert, finding that certain of his opinions are inadmissible because they do “nothing more than draw a legal conclusion” on whether a man withheld information from investors and the SEC.
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February 15, 2023
Late Motion To Exclude Expert Allowed But Fails In Insurance Coverage Spat
DALLAS — An insurer in a storm damage coverage suit was allowed to file a late motion but lost its bid to exclude a property owner’s expert when a Texas federal judge found his testimony reliable and helpful; the judge also denied most of its motion for summary judgment.
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February 14, 2023
11th Circuit Affirms Expert Exclusion, Summary Judgment In Design Defect Case
ATLANTA — “[A]n unbridged ‘analytical gap’ between” an expert’s observations and his opinion that a boat’s engine compartment hatch and lift actuator were defectively designed warrants exclusion, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said, affirming a district court’s order and its award of summary judgment in favor of the manufacturer.
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February 14, 2023
Expert Can’t Opine On Injury Causation, But Other Experts Admitted In Crash Case
SAVANNAH, Ga. — A Georgia federal magistrate judge found that there is no basis to exclude three experts retained in a case stemming from a car crash but ruled that one expert is excluded from opining on the cause of a woman’s injuries.
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February 10, 2023
Murder Suspect Fails To Convince Federal Judge To Exclude Forensic Evidence
MUSKOGEE, Okla. — A forensic expert retained by the government to testify on specific land and grooves produced by a gun that may have been used in a murder can testify, an Oklahoma federal judge ruled after finding that her testimony meets all the requirements under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc.
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February 09, 2023
Panel Says Expert Report Lacks Causation In Negligence Suit Against Nursing Home
TYLER, Texas— A Texas appellate court reversed and remanded an order denying a nursing home’s dismissal motion and overruling its objections to an estate representative’s expert report in a negligence suit filed against the nursing home after a woman died there, finding that the lower court erred because the report failed to show the expert’s qualifications or causation between the purported injury and death.
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February 09, 2023
Manufacturers’ Expert Out In Design Defect Case; Reconsideration Motion Fails
NEW YORK — A New York federal judge found that a motion for reconsideration of an order excluding an expert witness was untimely and an attempt for a “second bite of the apple,” upholding a previous order that ruled that a trucking manufacturer’s expert in a design defect case cannot testify that the company’s service manuals were reasonable for the industry.
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February 08, 2023
Panel: Expert On Alternative Design Wrongfully Excluded In Forklift Injury Case
CHICAGO — A trial court erred in excluding expert testimony in a design defect case, and this error warrants a new trial, the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled, remanding the design defect case to the district court.
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February 03, 2023
6th Circuit Uphold Expert’s Exclusion, Summary Judgment Award In Crash Suit
CINCINNATI — An accident reconstructionist retained by the family of a man killed when he was struck by a semi-truck failed to show that his methodology was reliable enough to pass muster under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held, affirming the exclusion of the expert’s opinions and grant of summary judgment to the defendants.
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February 01, 2023
Magistrate: Treating Doctor Can’t Opine On Causation Of Injuries From Fall
MIAMI — A Florida federal magistrate judge recommended that an emergency room doctor who examined a woman who claims that she was injured in a cruise ship bathroom be excluded from offering causation testimony.
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January 31, 2023
Texas Federal Jury Finds Insurer Acted In Good Faith, Complied With Policy
SHERMAN, Texas — A Texas federal jury returned a verdict for an insurance company, finding no evidence that the insurer failed to comply with its policy or that it engaged in unfair practices, days after the judge presiding over the trial ruled on motions to exclude the insureds’ expert witnesses.
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January 30, 2023
Judge: Parts Of Experts’ Testimony In Power Tool Accident Case Are Unreliable
PITTSBURGH — A Pennsylvania federal judge limited the testimony expected from two experts retained by a man who lost two fingers while using a Black & Decker router, finding that some testimony is admissible and that the manufacturer’s move for summary judgment fails.
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January 30, 2023
Judge: ‘Copycat Arguments’ In Dueling Motions To Exclude Warrant Exclusion
CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge largely granted competing motions to exclude a use-of-force expert retained by a city and one of its police officers and an expert who opines that a man’s rights were violated when he was attacked by a police canine.
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January 27, 2023
Lack Of Knowledge On Software Program Dooms Insured’s Expert’s Testimony
MIAMI — A federal magistrate recommended that an expert retained in a breach of contract suit against an insurer be excluded, citing statements from the expert’s “deposition which warrant concern.”
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January 26, 2023
Expert Testimony Properly Admitted, 1st Circuit Says In Affirming Conviction
BOSTON — The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a man’s conviction on gun-related charges after ruling that the trial court did not err in allowing expert testimony and that there was substantial evidence to support the guilty verdict.
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January 23, 2023
Manufacturers Tell 9th Circuit Putative Homeowner Class Lacks Evidence Of Defect
SAN FRANCISCO — Two construction supply manufacturers in a Jan. 20 answering brief to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals aver that a federal judge properly refused to certify a class of homeowners bringing claims for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) based on the manufacturers’ sale of allegedly defective connectors and anchors, writing that the plaintiffs’ expert failed to present evidence of a common defect.
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January 19, 2023
Crash Suit Parties Reach Settlement Day After Judge Allows Expert Testimony
LAS VEGAS — Parties involved in a car accident suit filed a notice in a Nevada federal court on Jan. 18 stating that they have reached a settlement, one day after a federal judge denied a motion to exclude a woman’s expert who would opine on her future medical needs.
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January 19, 2023
N.C. Judge: Expert On How Risk Of Regulation Impacts Valuation Is Admissible
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An expert retained to opine on how the industry risk of unregulated skill-based games is relevant to a company’s valuation during a merger may testify in a shareholder payout dispute, a North Carolina state business court judge ruled.