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Mealey's Daubert

November 20, 2024
Expert Testimony Trimmed, Class Certification Granted In Defective Windshield Case

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge limited expert testimony in a proposed class action suit alleging that Kia Motors America Inc. knew that its windshields were defective but failed to disclose it to consumers.
November 19, 2024
Judge: 1 Expert Admitted, 1 Excluded In Medical Malpractice Suit

HONOLULU — A Hawaii federal judge ruled that because a medical malpractice case is not being heard by a jury, an expert retained by the government can testify as the judge will be able determine the reliability of the expert’s testimony at trial; the judge also ruled that exclusion of a couple’s expert is the proper sanction for disclosing the expert after a deadline.
November 19, 2024
Experts, Constitutionality Of Tooey Come Before Pa. Supreme Court

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Parties to a $3 million asbestos verdict affirmed on appeal briefed the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on whether a toxicologist was properly precluded from offering an opinion on specific causation and whether precedent allowing an employee to sue an employer when a workers’ compensation claim was statutorily impossible violated the state constitution.
November 18, 2024
Expert For Veteran Convicted Of Lying For Disability Benefits Properly Excluded

CINCINNATI — There was no error in a ruling that excluded an expert retained by a veteran convicted of lying about the extent of disabilities to obtain more benefits, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said in affirming the conviction, but the court remanded the case to the district court to recalculate the amount of restitution owed.
November 14, 2024
Conn. Federal Judge Says Boat Dealer Cannot Opine On Value Of Damaged Speed Boat

HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut federal judge found that testimony from a boat dealer who was retained to opine on the valuation of a speed boat that was damaged during transport is inadmissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc.
November 14, 2024
Judge: Expert Not Qualified To Opine On What Caused Ladder To Collapse

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A mechanical engineer who spent most of his career in the automotive industry is unqualified to testify as to why an extension ladder collapsed and caused injuries, a West Virigina federal judge ruled Nov. 13 while affirming a previous order that the company’s expert may testify.
November 12, 2024
Ohio Train Derailment Defendants Say Their Expert Is Qualified To Testify

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Defendants in the litigation over the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that released toxic chemicals into the air and soil have filed a brief in Ohio federal court arguing that Norfolk Southern Corp.’s arguments to exclude a defense expert do not have merit.
November 11, 2024
ASD-ADHD MDL Defendants Say Lower Court Properly Excluded Expert Testimony

NEW YORK — Arguments made by plaintiffs in the acetaminophen autism spectrum disorder-attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ASD-ADHD) multidistrict litigation appealing a decision to exclude their expert witnesses “would transform the trial court’s role” in determining admissibility under Federal Rule of Evidence 702, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (JJCI) and retailers of acetaminophen argue in a brief before the Second Circuit Court U.S. Court of Appeals.
November 08, 2024
Pa. Federal Magistrate: Rebuttal Witness On Life-Care Needs Can Testify

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal magistrate judge denied a motion filed by a family injured in an accident to exclude the testimony of an expert hired to rebut the report of the family’s life-care planning experts.
November 06, 2024
Colorado High Court: Lack Of Formal Acceptance Does Not Bar Expert Testimony

DENVER — The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that an expert witness is not required under the state’s rules of evidence or case law to be formally offered and accepted as an expert for the testimony to be admissible, reversing a court of appeals ruling that overturned a murder conviction.
November 05, 2024
2nd Circuit Affirms Finding That Ed Sheeran Didn’t Infringe Marvin Gaye Song

NEW YORK — A 2014 hit single from English pop star Ed Sheeran did not infringe on the copyright related to a 1973 song from Marvin Gaye, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held, affirming a New York federal judge’s finding of noninfringement.
November 05, 2024
Mo. Federal Judge Finds Expert Testimony Not Relevant In Wrongful Death Case

ST. LOUIS — Because a Missouri federal judge had previously granted a retail store summary judgment on a negligence claim against it in a wrongful death suit stemming from the drowning of a child in an aboveground pool, he ruled that the testimony from two experts is no longer relevant.
November 04, 2024
Federal Judge: Case Alleging Injury From Falling Sign In Target Moves Forward

NEW ORLEANS — An expert retained by a woman who alleges that she was injured by a falling sign in a Target store is qualified to testify and his opinions are relevant, a federal judge in Louisiana ruled, also rejecting Target’s motion for summary judgment after finding that whether the company is liable is in dispute.
November 04, 2024
Judge Asks Parties To Consider Alternative Resolution To Stay Of Crypto Case

SAN FRANCISCO — Days after ruling on four motions to exclude expert testimony in a securities case involving crypto tokens, a federal judge in California responded to a joint motion for entry of final judgment and asked the parties to consider an alternative resolution.
November 01, 2024
Split Panel: Silicosis Case Fails Due To Plaintiff’s Unreliable Experts

HOUSTON — A split Texas appeals court panel on Oct. 31 affirmed a lower court’s ruling in favor of Exxon Mobil Corp. in a silica injury lawsuit brought by a worker who sandblasted railcars and contended that he developed pulmonary fibrosis because the company created a situation in which he had to perform an “intrinsically unsafe and ultrahazardous activity.” The panel held that the worker’s experts were not reliable.
October 30, 2024
Judge Bars Economics Expert In Avandia Third-Party Payer’s Bid For Class Action

PHILADELPHIA — The Pennsylvania federal judge overseeing the Avandia multidistrict litigation agreed with GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) that an economic expert retained by third-party payers who bought the diabetes pill and are seeking class certification cannot testify under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc.
October 24, 2024
Challenge To Summary Judgment, Exclusion Ruling In ERISA Fees Row Is Dropped

PHILADELPHIA — An appeal of a summary judgment and expert exclusion ruling in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action over allegedly excessive record-keeping fees has been dismissed with prejudice under a stipulation filed in the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
October 22, 2024
Experts Featured In Mealey's Daubert Report

Entries are ordered in alphabetical order of the expert in each area of expert testimony. Experts appeared in the May, June, July, August, September and October 2024 issues of Mealey’s Daubert Report.
October 22, 2024
Federal Judge Allows Experts For Both Sides To Testify In Trade Secrets Suit

OMAHA, Neb. — A Nebraska federal judge largely denied three motions to exclude expert testimony filed in a trade secrets dispute stemming from a case filed by a transportation broker for agricultural products against former employees who left to join a competitor.
October 22, 2024
R.I. Justice: Experts Retained In Take-Home Asbestos Exposure Case Can Testify

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A Rhode Island Superior Court justice largely refused to exclude two experts from testifying for the estate of a woman who claims that she contracted mesothelioma as a result of laundering her husband’s work clothes after finding that the experts’ conclusions that are based on the “each and every exposure” theory” are admissible under state law.
October 22, 2024
No Error In Exclusion Of Expert During Murder Trial, Indiana Appeals Court Holds

INDIANAPOLIS — There was no abuse in discretion in a trial court’s decision to exclude an expert on gunshot residue because he was unqualified to opine on procedures at a criminal laboratory, the Indiana Court of Appeals court held, affirming a man’s conviction for murder.
October 22, 2024
Iowa Federal Judge Denies Motion To Exclude Expert In FLSA Bench Trial

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — An Iowa federal judge said that because a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) dispute will be resolved through a bench trial, excluding certain testimony from an expert witness retained to opine on damages is unnecessary.
October 21, 2024
Causation Experts In Deepwater Injury Case Properly Excluded, 11th Circuit Says

ATLANTA — A district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding two experts retained by men who allege that they were injured as a result of exposure to crude oil and dispersants during the cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and granting summary judgment in favor of BP Exploration & Production Inc. and its affiliates, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Oct. 18.
October 21, 2024
Expert Can Testify In Bench Trial Over Alleged Discriminatory Rental Policies

INDIANAPOLIS — While recognizing a housing management’s concerns about an expert’s testimony in a case alleging that its policies violated state and federal fair housing laws, an Indiana federal magistrate judge denied a motion to exclude and ruled that the expert can testify at the upcoming bench trial.
October 18, 2024
Michigan Appeals Court Finds No Abuse Of Discretion In Excluding Medical Expert

DETROIT — A Michigan trial court did not err in granting summary disposition to the defendants in a woman’s medical malpractice suit after finding that the woman’s expert failed to meet the admissibility standards under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. and state law, a Michigan appeals court panel held.