Mealey's Daubert
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September 30, 2024
Judge Says ‘No Choice’ But To Grant Judgment To Meta In Adult Entertainers Suit
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted summary judgment to Meta Platforms Inc. in a putative class action filed by adult entertainment (AE) performers alleging tortious interference and unfair competition in blacklisting social media posts by most AE providers in favor of the OnlyFans AE platform, finding that despite Meta’s “questionable recordkeeping,” the plaintiffs failed to show that questions remain regarding issues of material fact.
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September 27, 2024
Judge: Tattoo Artist Did Not Show How Game Makers’ Infringement Caused Damages
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — An Illinois federal judge held that the developers of wrestling video games are not entitled to judgment as a matter of law after a jury determined that they are liable for copyright infringement of a tattoo artist’s work through their depictions in-game of a tattooed wrestling star, but they are entitled to judgment as a matter of law on damages because the artist presented no evidence at trial to support the award of damages.
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September 26, 2024
Federal Circuit Grants Google’s Petition For Rehearing Of Patent Dispute
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Sept. 25 that it will reconsider its June opinion leaving in place findings by a jury empaneled in a Texas federal court that Google LLC infringed smart thermostat technology to the tune of $20 million in damages owed to a patent owner, granting Google’s petition for en banc rehearing.
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September 24, 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 and September 2024 issues of Mealey’s Daubert Report.
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September 24, 2024
Appeals Court: No Error In Expert Testimony Rulings; Conviction Affirmed
ATLANTA — There was no abuse of discretion in a district court’s decision to deny a man’s request for a hearing to determine the admissibility of the government’s expert under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. nor in excluding his expert from testifying, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in affirming a criminal conviction.
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September 23, 2024
Arborists Can Opine For Both Sides On Reasonable Tree Removal Safety, Judge Says
NEW ORLEANS — Dueling arborists can both testify in a case alleging that a tree-cutting company’s employee negligently allowed a tree to fall into traffic, causing injuries to a driver, a Louisiana federal judge ruled.
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September 23, 2024
Federal Florida Magistrate Recommends Allowing Doctor To Testify In Injury Suit
MIAMI — A federal magistrate judge in Florida recommended that a motion to exclude testimony from a woman’s treating physician be denied in a personal injury suit filed against Carnival Corp. for an injury sustained on a cruise ship.
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September 23, 2024
Arizona Federal Judge Limits Testimony In Firefighter’s Discrimination Case
PHOENIX — An expert retained in an age discrimination and retaliation case can testify on the new fitness requirements for firefighters but cannot offer expert opinions on statements that are understood by an average juror, an Arizona federal judge ruled, also finding that the man suing for discrimination can have his expert testify on his economic damages.
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September 20, 2024
Testimony Properly Admitted In Trial Against Alleged Terrorist, 2nd Circuit Says
NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found no error in a district court allowing expert testimony in a criminal case for a man accused of attempting to fight for the Taliban to kill Americans abroad and recruiting others to join his cause and affirmed his conviction.
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September 19, 2024
Pa. Court Rejects Expert, Causation Challenges After $3.3M Asbestos Verdict
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania appellate court found no fault with a trial judge’s conclusion about expert testimony on causation and duty or in allowing an asbestos suit against an employer that ended in a bench trial and more than $3.3 million verdict, but said that the trial judge erred in reducing delay damages for various issues in the case, including a prolonged stay that corresponded with the coronavirus pandemic.
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September 19, 2024
Parties Ask Court For Summary Judgment In Defective Birth Control Device Case
CHICAGO — A woman who claims that she was injured by a defective birth control device and the manufacturer, distributor and parent company of that device filed competing motions seeking to exclude experts and asking for summary judgment in an Illinois federal court.
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September 19, 2024
Va. Federal Judge: Lost Profits Expert Can Testify In Suit Alleging Defamation
RICHMOND, Va. — An expert retained to opine on an insurance claim adjustment company’s economic loss after allegedly defaming statements were made to its customers by an online payment company can testify, a Virginia federal judge ruled.
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September 18, 2024
Kansas Appeals Court Finds Expert Opining On Birds’ Deaths Properly Excluded
TOPEKA, Kan. — A Kansas appeals court found no error in a trial court in awarding summary judgment to an animal feed company after excluding experts retained by a farm that alleged that defective feed caused the death of almost 25,000 birds.
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September 13, 2024
Summary Judgment Bid Largely Fails In ERISA Class Row Over Proprietary Funds
BOSTON — A Massachusetts federal judge has mostly denied summary judgment in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action challenging the selection and retention of proprietary funds, also denying the defendants’ requests to partly exclude the opinions and exhibits of two of the plaintiffs’ experts.
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September 13, 2024
Magistrate Recommends Granting 2 Motions To Exclude Experts For Rule 26 Violations
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — A federal magistrate judge in New Mexico recommended that two experts retained by a man alleging that he was injured in a police shootout be barred from testifying for failing to timely explain how the experts reached their conclusions.
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September 12, 2024
Experts In College Admission Case Challenging Racial Preferences Can Testify
BALTIMORE — Experts retained by an organization that alleges that the U.S. Naval Academy unconstitutionally considers race as a factor in admissions can testify after a federal judge in Maryland largely denied a motion to exclude.
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September 11, 2024
5th Circuit Affirms Win For BP In Deepwater Injury Case; Expert Properly Excluded
NEW ORLEANS — A lower court did not err in excluding a man’s causation expert in a Deepwater Horizon oil spill injury case, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled, affirming a summary judgment award in favor of BP Exploration & Production Inc. and its affiliates.
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September 10, 2024
Judge Allows Experts’ Opinions On LLMs In Alexa Patent Case
RICHMOND, Va. — An expert’s opinions on the availability of large language models (LLMs) when Amazon.com first released its Alexa assistant product are admissible, a federal judge in Virginia said in denying three motions to exclude under Daubert in a patent infringement lawsuit.
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September 10, 2024
Judge: Experts Can Testify For Woman Who Alleges She Was Sold Defective Horse
ORLANDO, Fla. — A Florida federal judge ruled that testimony from an expert retained by a woman who alleges that sellers of a horse misrepresented the animal’s medical condition, causing the woman to pay more than what the horse is worth, is mostly admissible.
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September 09, 2024
Georgia Defendants: Court Erred In Allowing Expert’s Cumulative Exposure Opinion
ATLANTA — A trial court improperly admitted expert testimony that cumulative exposures to asbestos increased a man’s risk of mesothelioma, ignored other testimony indicating that the man’s employers could have learned of the risks and then denied summary judgment despite the lack of admissible causation evidence, premises owners tell the Georgia Court of Appeals.
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September 06, 2024
Magistrate Judge Allows Rebuttal Witness, 2nd Report In COVID-19 Class Suit
EUGENE, Ore. — An Oregon federal magistrate judge on Sept. 5 ruled that a rebuttal witness on ventilation systems can testify for state officials facing a class action from a group of inmates in Oregon prison who allege that they were subjected to cruel and unusual punishment when state officials failed to protect them from heightened exposure to COVID-19.
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September 06, 2024
Testimony From Officer’s Expert On Man’s Injuries Limited In Use Of Force Case
BOISE, Idaho — An expert retained by a police officer who is facing allegations that he violated a man’s constitutional rights during an arrest cannot testify about the cause of his injuries because his conclusions are not based on facts in evidence, an Idaho federal judge ruled.
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September 05, 2024
Judge Largely Allows Asbestos Expert’s Cumulative Exposure Opinions
TAMPA, Fla. — To the extent an asbestos expert’s opinion that cumulative exposures increased the risk of a man’s lung cancer includes consideration of whether the exposures exceeded a de minimis amount, the opinion is reliable and admissible, a federal judge in Florida said in partly denying two motions to exclude.
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September 04, 2024
Dog Supplement Makers Seek Stay To Petition High Court After Class Ruling
PASADENA, Calif. — The makers of Cosequin, a pet supplement, filed a motion in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to stay the mandate pending filing of a petition for writ of certiorari; the motion comes about a week after the panel issued an amended opinion affirming a trial court’s grant of class certification to consumers who allege that the products they bought were falsely marketed as improving joint health.
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September 03, 2024
6th Circuit Says Lower Court Erred In Excluding Testimony On Type Of Fence Needed
CINCINNATI — A lower court erred in excluding testimony from a physician who opined that a child with special needs needed a 6-foot wooden privacy fence that was prohibited under regulations by a homeowners association (HOA), the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in reversing summary judgment and remanding the case.