Mealey's Daubert
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June 30, 2023
Federal Magistrate OKs Testimony On Reasonableness Of Medical Rates After Crash
AUSTIN, Texas — Physicians can testify on the reasonableness of medical charges a man incurred for neurological and neck issues after a car accident, a Texas federal magistrate judge said in ruling on two motions to exclude in separate orders.
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June 30, 2023
Monsanto Insists Its Roundup Expert Is Qualified, Says Motion To Exclude Fails
SAN FRANCISCO — Monsanto Co. on June 29 filed a brief arguing that a California federal court should deny an attempt by a woman with cancer who seeks to exclude Monsanto’s expert witness in her injury lawsuit related to the herbicide Roundup because the plaintiff’s motion is “based on arguments that misunderstand and misrepresent his qualifications and opinions, as well as Roundup’s regulatory landscape.”
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June 28, 2023
Missouri Federal Judge Limits Engineer’s Testimony In Defective Design Case
ST. LOUIS — A licensed engineered retained as an expert in a product liability case can testify on the ergonomics and biomechanics of a chain and ratchet system, but he is unqualified to offer medical causation opinions, a federal judge in Missouri ruled.
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June 27, 2023
Judge: FCRA Claim Fails Because Credit Report Contained No False Information
CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois found that because there is no false information in a consumer reporting agency’s report that reflected that a woman had “‘historic late [mortgage] payments in 2018 and 2019,’” there is no Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) violation and awarded the agency summary judgment.
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June 27, 2023
Expert Testimony Admissible But Lay Witness Testimony Leads To Reversal
DENVER — The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 26 reversed a man’s conviction for sexually abusing his stepdaughters after finding that the trial court erred in allowing the girls’ mother to testify on their credibility but found no error in allowing other expert testimony.
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June 27, 2023
Woman Appeals To 5th Circuit Expert’s Exclusion In Deepwater Horizon Injury Case
NEW ORLEANS — A woman who claims that she was injured as a result of exposure to oil and other chemicals related to the Deepwater Horizon explosion has filed a notice of appeal in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to contest a district court judge’s decision to exclude her expert’s testimony, as well as the judge’s denial of reconsideration of that judgment.
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June 27, 2023
Magistrate: Expert Can Offer Inconclusive Opinions On Causation Of Eye Injury
DENVER — A federal magistrate judge in Colorado refused to exclude an expert who said he could not definitively say injuries a man says he sustained when police officers fired pepper-filled projectiles at his eye were caused by the projectiles, finding that the testimony passed muster under Federal Rule of Evidence 702.
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June 23, 2023
Judge: Prosecutor Can’t Testify For Police Officer Charged For False Report
INDIANAPOLIS — A prosecutor retained as an expert witness by a police officer charged with filing a false report cannot testify on the purpose of certain police reports after an Indiana federal judge found his testimony irrelevant and unhelpful under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc.
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June 22, 2023
Subcontractor, OCIP Broker- Administrator Agree To Dismiss 9th Circuit Appeal
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ordered the dismissal of a subcontractor’s appeal of the dismissal of its claims against the administrator/broker of an owner controlled insurance plan (OCIP) in a dispute over coverage for property damage at a construction project after the parties stipulated to voluntary dismissal with prejudice.
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June 21, 2023
Judge Nixes Deepwater Horizon Case, Says Causation Expert Fails Daubert Standard
NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Louisiana has dismissed with prejudice a case brought by a man who contended that he was injured during cleanup operations following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, ruling that his causation expert failed to meet the standard for admissibility under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and, therefore, the case lacked expert medical causation evidence.
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June 21, 2023
7th Circuit: FCA Suit Properly Dismissed On Causation Grounds
CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found that a former underwriter who alleged that a mortgage lender made false representations to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development showed proof of materiality but failed to prove causation, affirming summary judgment in the lender’s favor and finding no error in the lower court’s rulings on expert testimony.
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June 21, 2023
Appeals Court: Governmental Immunity In Dispute After Expert Properly Admitted
DETROIT — A Michigan trial court did not err in denying a motion for summary disposition based on governmental immunity after finding that a causation expert’s testimony was admissible, a state appellate panel ruled in affirming.
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June 20, 2023
Delaware Judge: Use Of Stun Gun Expert Allowed In FELA Suit Against Amtrak
WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware state judge agreed with a man who sued his former employer for negligence that his expert on the use of stun guns is admissible under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. and state law, and denied a motion to exclude.
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June 15, 2023
Judge Dismisses With Prejudice Deepwater Horizon Injury Case For Lack Of Causation
GULFPORT, Miss. — A federal judge in Mississippi dismissed with prejudice an injury lawsuit brought by a man who was involved in the cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, ruling that he failed to establish causation for his alleged ailments because his experts were inadmissible.
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June 14, 2023
Class Certification Fails After Expert Testimony Excluded In Home Value Case
NEWARK, N.J. — Efforts to certify a class of homeowners who allege that an animal-rendering facility releases noxious odors, which have reduced their enjoyments and the value of their property, fail after a New Jersey federal judge ruled that the homeowners failed to meet the requirements for certification after a finding that the proposed expert testimony is inadmissible.
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June 14, 2023
Excessive Force Expert Out In Case Alleging Police Violated Civil Rights
ORLANDO, Fla. — An expert retained to opine on whether police officers used excessive force during a wellness check cannot testify because his “ultimate opinions run afoul of” Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc., a federal judge in Florida ruled June 13.
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June 14, 2023
Judge Releases Reasoning For Causation Expert Exclusion In Therapy Device Case
TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida federal judge released an order to explain his earlier ruling that an expert retained by a man who alleged that an electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) device caused permanent neurological injury is inadmissible, days after a jury entered a verdict finding that the manufacturer’s inadequate instruction was not a proximate cause of damage.
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June 12, 2023
Expert On Damages Calculation Admitted As Court Mulls Class Certification
LAFAYETTE, La. — An expert’s proposed methodology to calculate damages in a case alleging that an insurer used improper vehicle valuation methods in vehicle damage claims is admissible, a Louisiana federal magistrate judge ruled in denying a motion to exclude.
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June 09, 2023
Judge: Experts On Reasonableness Of Response To Sexual Assault Admissible
CHICAGO — Dueling experts opining on how a college responded to a sexual assault allegation can both testify after an Illinois federal judge denied both motions to exclude but ruled that certain claims filed by a former student do not survive a motion for summary judgment.
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June 08, 2023
Judge: Expert Allowed In Case Alleging Injuries From Exploding Candle
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Testimony from an expert retained from a woman who alleges that she was injured by a defective candle is relevant and reliable, a Tennessee federal judge ruled June 7 in denying Walmart’s motion to exclude the testimony.
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June 07, 2023
Expert Testimony Allowed In Prisoner Suicide Suit, But Some Claims Are Dismissed
ASHLAND, Ky. — A corrections expert can testify in a suit brought by the daughter of a man who committed suicide while in a Kentucky jail, a Kentucky federal judge ruled, but the judge partially granted a motion for summary judgment, dismissing Boyd County, Ky., and various officials from the case.
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June 07, 2023
Expert On Insurance Coverage Suit Admitted, But Judge Rules Certain Claims Fail
GULFPORT, Miss. — A Mississippi federal judge ruled that an expert retained by a woman contesting the amount her home insurer was willing to pay to resolve a claim for storm damage may testify but granted in part the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.
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June 07, 2023
Asbestos Plaintiffs Want To Strike Expert Testimony About Heart Condition
LOS ANGELES — No cardiologist would seriously contend that arterial calcification found incidental to other testing could reduce a man’s lifespan without any knowledge of the condition’s extent, a couple in an asbestos exposure case tell a California judge in seeking to strike the expert’s opinion.
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June 06, 2023
Expert Witnesses Properly Admitted In Robbery Case, 11th Circuit Says
ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of a man for a spree of robberies, finding that the trial court did not err in admitting expert testimony without holding a hearing under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc., and rejecting other challenges.
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June 05, 2023
Medical Malpractice Award OK’d By Ga. Appeals Court, Expert Testimony Permissible
ATLANTA — A Georgia appeals court affirmed an $8.5 million verdict in favor of a man suing for medical malpractice related to the death of his wife after finding that the medical professionals “have not met their burden of showing that the trial court abused its broad discretion in admitting” expert testimony.