Category: Expert Witnesses

Daubert Provides For Liberal Admission Of Expert Testimony

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a district court decision to grant summary judgment based on excluding three plaintiff experts regarding causation.  While the district court ruled the experts did not reliably exclude alternative causes of injury and therefore their testimony was inadmissible under Daubert, the Court of Appeals concluded that this was …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2014/07/daubert-provides-for-liberal-admission-of-expert-testimony/

Ninth Circuit Issues Reminder on Daubert: Trial Court Is A Gatekeeper, Not A Fact Finder

In a recent case involving the City of Pomona (“Pomona”) v. SQM North America Corporation (“SQM”), Pomona alleged that SQM’s importation of sodium nitrate for fertilizer caused a perchlorate contamination in the city.  Although the district court excluded under Daubert the expert testimony of Pomona’s expert witness on causation, the Ninth Circuit reversed the ruling, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2014/06/ninth-circuit-issues-reminder-on-daubert-trial-court-is-a-gatekeeper-not-a-fact-finder/

New Path for Accelerated Discovery Requires Immediate Expert Assistance

The Eastern District of Texas is well known for its intense patent activity and already provides early disclosure of infringement and invalidity contentions to facilitate faster resolution of these cases.  The Court has now taken similar action by providing an option for accelerated damage discovery, including requiring a two week turnaround between defendant’s production of …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2014/03/new-path-for-accelerated-discovery-requires-immediate-expert-assistance/

Court strikes expert for “parroting”

In Plantronics, Inc.v. ALIPH, Inc, ALIPH was successful in its bid to exclude the report of Plaintiff’s infringement expert in this case involving the fit of ear buds.  The Court found that the expert did very little analysis in order to conclude infringement: “Professor Katz never conducted any quantitative analysis (i.e., size, measurements, dimensions, or …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2014/03/court-strikes-expert-for-parroting/

An example of a proper expert exclusion under Daubert

In an unpublished opinion in re: Craig Moore vs. International Paint, L.L.C., (No. 13-30281, November 15, 2013) the Fifth Circuit upheld the District Court’s exclusion of an expert witness and the related Summary Judgment Order. The case provides a worthwhile primer on when a Daubert motion should be successful. Too often, judges go beyond the …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/12/an-example-of-a-proper-expert-exclusion-under-daubert/

Disgorgement of Profits on Unpaid Benefits Granted in ERISA Long Term Disability Case

In Rochow v. Life Insurance Company of North America (“LINA”), the Appeals Court affirmed a disgorgement remedy of $3.8 million under ERISA in this long term disability case.  In a previous appeal, the Court had determined that LINA had acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner when it continuously denied Daniel Rochow benefits for his long …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/12/disgorgement-and-unpaid-benefits-granted-in-erisa-long-term-disability-case/

Award of expert fees to prevailing party upheld without common limitations

In Equal Employment Opportunity Commission vs. Peoplemark, Inc., Case. No. 11-2582 (6th Cir. October 7, 2013), the Sixth Circuit reviewed the award of legal and expert fees. The matter is particularly interesting regarding the expert fees awarded, and the explanation for doing so. The Sixth Circuit’s Opinion included the following case facts: “Defendant-appellee Peoplemark is …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/11/award-of-expert-fees-to-prevailing-party-upheld-without-common-limitations/

Get the Court’s Daubert Rationale on the Record

A recent ruling encourages any litigator sponsoring expert testimony to ensure that the Court memorializes its critique of the Court’s gatekeeping function of expert testimony. The ruling also reversed two inherently speculative damage claims claims that  are not that uncommon. In Smith v. Jenkins, F.3d (1st Cir. Oct. 15, 2013) (Nos. 11–2349, 11–2378, 11–2389), the Appellate Court …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/11/first-circuit-reverses-two-speculative-damage-types/

New AAA Discovery Rules are in Effect

The American Arbitration Association (“AAA”)’s recent revisions to the AAA’s Commercial Arbitration Rules are effective for any AAA-administered arbitration filed on or after today, October 1.  One area of update is the discovery process. Going forward, unless otherwise agreed to by the parties, these new rules should make it easier for arbitrators to more closely control …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/10/new-aaa-discovery-rules-are-in-effect/

Expert Thrown Out After Claiming Major Report “Typos” on Cross

A recently affirmed decision to grant judgment for the defendant as a matter of law in Rembrandt Vision Technologies, Inc. v. Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. highlights the importance of expert testimony that is consistent with previously disclosed opinions presented in a Rule 26 report. In this matter, the expert’s testimony was struck because …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/09/expert-thrown-out-after-claiming-major-report-typos-on-cross/