Articles Posted in Daubert Shorts

by
  1. McCrary v. John W. Stone Oil Distributor, L.L.C. – United States District Court – Eastern District of Louisiana – February 26th, 2016 – This is a personal injury case where a seaman was injured during his workday on a boat operated by Defendants.  The Plaintiff hired  Captain James Jamison as an admiralty & maritime expert witnesses to provide testimony.  The Defendant filed a motion to exclude the testimony based on unreliability.  The court denied the motion.
  2. Fond du Lac Bumper Exchange Inc v. Jui Li Enterprise Company Ltd et al – United States District Court – Eastern District of Wisconsin – February 26th, 2016 – In this antitrust litigation involving direct purchasers and indirect purchasers of aftermarket sheet metal products, the Plaintiffs have hired Dr. Russell Lamb (economics expert witness) to prove the elements needed to prove class certification.   The Defendants filed a motion to exclude this testimony stating that Dr. Lamb used flawed methodology.  The court denied the motion.
  3. Releford v. City of Houston – United States District Court – Southern District of Texas – February 29th, 2016 – This case involves the fatal shooting of a man by a police officer.  The man’s estate filed suit, alleging civil rights violations.  The Plaintiff hired William Rathburn, a law enforcement expert witness, to provide testimony on police procedures and the Defendants filed a motion to exclude the testimony, based on qualifications and reliability.  The court denied the motion.
Continue reading

by
  1. Martinez-Morales v. Martens – Supreme Court of Alaska – February 19th, 2016 – This case involves an accident in a parking lot where a car struck a pedestrian.  Rhonda Martens was found not negligent by a jury in the lower court.  Martinez-Morales appeals the opinion on numerous issues, one being that the lower court erroneously allowed Marten’s accident reconstruction expert witness, Bob Butcher, to provide testimony.  The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court opinion.
  2. Dial Corp. v. News Corp – United States District Court – Southern District of New York – February 16th, 2016 – In this antitrust litigation involving third-party in-store promotions, the Plaintiffs’ filed a motion In Limine to exclude the testimony of Defendants’ economic expert witness, Dr. Dennis W. Carlton.  The court denied the motion.
  3. Kintzel v. Kleeman – United States District Court – Middle District of Pennsylvania – February 19th, 2016 – This case involves a civil rights complaint against a police officer.  The Plaintiff hired Captain William Williams of the Pennsylvania State Police as a Wireless Technology Expert, specifically the evaluation of the GPS used by the State Police.  The Defendant challenged this testimony on qualification grounds.  The court granted the motion.
Continue reading

by
  1. Hernandez v. City of Findlay – United States District Court – Northern District of Ohio – February 12th, 2016 – In this case of alleged excessive force by a policeman, the Plaintiff hired Andrew J. Scott, III as a police procedures expert witness.  The defense challenged this testimony on reliability grounds and the court agreed.  The testimony of Andrew J. Scott, III was excluded.
  2. Nagle v. Gusman – United States District Court – Eastern District of Louisiana – February 10th and February 12th, 2016 – This case involves a civil rights action against numerous employees at the Orleans Parish Prison.  The Plaintiffs are siblings of a prisoner who committed suicide while on the watch by the prison.  Both parties called expert witnesses to the stand and both were subsequently challenged.  The Defendants filed a motion to exclude the testimony of Dr. James F. Hooper (neurology expert witness) and the Plaintiff filed a motion to exclude the testimony of Dr. Elizabeth Ford (psychiatry expert witness).  In two separate opinions, the court denied in part and granted in part the respective motions to exclude.
  3. Hernandez v. Leichliter et al – United States District Court – Southern District of New York – February 18th, 2016 – In this case involving a car accident on the George Washington Bridge, the Plaintiff hired Dr. James Pugh as a biomechanist expert witness to opine on causation.  The Defendants filed a motion to exclude the testimony based on the reliability of methodology.  The court granted the motion.
Continue reading

by
  1. Barclay v. State Farm Lloyds – United States District Court – Southern District of Texas – January 14th, 2016 – This lawsuit involves an insurance claim for foundation damage to a house.  Plaintiffs washing machine malfunctioned, causing water to leak into the garage causing the damage.  In order to assist to prove her case, the Plaintiff hired Gerard J. Duhon (structural engineering expert witnesses).  The Defendant filed a motion to exclude his testimony, but the court disagreed, denying the motion.
  2. Alarid v. Biomet, Inc et al – United States District Court – District of Colorado – February 4th, 2016 – In this products liability lawsuit involving a Comprehensive Reverse Shoulder, the defendants have hired Dr. Edward Seade (orthopedic surgery expert witnesses) to provide expert witness testimony on his behalf.  The Plaintiffs filed a motion to exclude the testimony, but the court denied the motion.
  3. Medlock v. Taco Bell Corp., et al. – United States District Court – Eastern District of California – January 4th, 2016 – This is a class action case which the Plaintiff’s allege numerous employment-related claims against the Defendant.   The Plaintiffs seek to exclude the testimony of the Defendant’s expert witnesses, Robert Crandall (public opinion & survey research expert witness) and Jonathan Walker (economics expert witnesses).   The court denied both motions to exclude.
Continue reading

by
  1. Fick v. Exxon Mobil Corporation – United States District Court – Eastern District of Louisiana – February 1st, 2016 – This is a personal injury case involving a shrimp boat hitting a pipe to a well.  The defendant hired Dennis K. Manuel as an oil & gas expert witness to assist in their case and the Plaintiff challenged his testimony on numerous grounds including qualifications and reliability.  The judge agreed with the Plaintiff and granted the motion to exclude the testimony of Mr. Manuel.
  2. Howard v. Offshore Liftboats, LLC et al – United States District Court – Eastern District of Louisiana – February 1st, 2016 – This case involves a maritime personal injury. The Plaintiff hired Jack Madeley as a cranes expert witness.  The Defense filed a motion to exclude his testimony stating that he is not qualified.  The court agreed and granted the motion to exclude Madeley’s testimony.
  3. Alarid v. Biomet, Inc et al – United States District Court – District of Colorado – February 1st, 2016 – In this products liability case, the Plaintiffs allege design and manufacturing defects in a prosthetic device called the Comprehensive Reverse Shoulder.  The defendants have filed a motion to limit the testimony of Dr. David Schneider, an orthopedic surgery expert witnesses, stating that he is not qualified to opine on matters that go beyond the expertise of orthopedic surgery.  The court granted the motion.
Continue reading

by
  1. Brooks et al v. Caterpillar, Inc. – United States District Court – Western District of Kentucky – January 20th, 2016 – In this products liability case involving a coal mining accident, the Plaintiffs sued the Defendant claiming that the incident could have been avoided if a handle on a roof bolter machine was located in a different spot.  The Plaintiffs hired Thomas Boutaugh and Jack Spadaro (Mining Expert Witnesses) to provide expert witness testimony on their behalf.  The defendants have filed a motion to exclude the testimony of both witnesses citing non-qualification and erred methodologies.  The court opined that the testimony of both experts were allowed.
  2. Douglas Lapham and Hilarie Lapham v. Watts Regulator Company – United States District Court – District of Kansas – January 21st, 2016 – The Plaintiffs bring this products liability action against the Defendants for a defective toilet connector.   Their claims include design defect, manufacturing defect, and warning defect.  In order to prove their case, the plaintiffs hired  Dr. Javier Cruz, a plastics expert witness.  The Defendants have filed a motion to exclude this testimony on the grounds of reliability and qualifications.  The court denied the motion to exclude.
  3. State of Arizona v. Joseph Javier Romero – Arizona Supreme Court – January 20th, 2016 – The appellant in this case appeals his first degree murder conviction.  He states that the trial court erred when it precluded the expert witness testimony of Dr. Ralph Haber (firearms & ballistics expert witness).  Specifically, Romero states that the court should have allowed Dr. Haber’s testimony that firearms experts use subjective methods when drawing conclusions from indentations on shell casings.  An divided appeals court also agreed to with the trial court in not allowing this testimony.  The present court affirmed this ruling.
Continue reading

by
  1. Mendoza v. Lafarge North America, Inc. et al – United States District Court – Eastern District of Louisiana – January 13th, 2015 – In this personal injury case involving a motor vehicle and a cement-mixing truck, the plaintiff (Mendoza) has filed a motion to exclude the expert witness testimony of David W. Aiken, Jr, M.D. (orthopedic surgery expert witness).  Dr. Aiken was hired to offer an opinion on Mendoza’s medical condition and whether the accident caused the need for her neck surgery.  Dr. Aiken concluded that the accident did not cause Mendoza’s need for neck surgery.  Mendoza filed a motion stating that Dr. Aiken’s expert testimony was unreliable because he did not examine the plaintiff.  The court disagreed with her, stating that, under Daubert, expert witnesses need not examine a plaintiff to come to a reliable opinion.  Thus, the motion to exclude the evidence was denied.
  2. United States of America v. Mark Spangler – United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit – January 15th, 2016 – The defendant appeals the lower court opinion which convicted him of wire fraud, money laundering, and investment-advisor fraud.  Spangler maintains that the district court erred in excluding the expert witness testimony of John Keller (forensic accounting expert witness).  He maintains that Keller’s testimony would have been relevant as to his intent to defraud his clients.  The appeals court disagreed and affirmed the opinion of the lower court.
  3. Howard v. Offshore Liftboats, LLC et al – United States District Court – Eastern District of Louisiana – January 19th, 2016 – In this maritime personal injury case, the plaintiffs were injured while transferring a personnel basket from one ship to another.  The defendants filed separate motions to excluder the expert witness testimony of David Cole (admiralty & maritime expert witnesses).  Both of the objections were based on whether Cole was qualified to testify.  The court granted the motion filed by K&K Offshore and granted in part the motion filed by OLB.
Continue reading

by
  1. PHILLIP JACKSON BAILEY, Appellant, v. STATE OF ALASKA, Appellee – Alaska Court of Appeals – December 16th, 2015 – This case is an appeal of a first-degree murder conviction.  The Appellant maintains that the trial court erred when it limited the testimony of his deadly/excessive force expert witnesses Donald Mann.  The court affirmed the trial court opinion.
  2. United States of America v. An Easement and Right-of-Way Over 3.11 Acres of Land, More or Less, in Warren County, Kentucky et al – United States District Court – Western District of Kentucky – December 18th, 2015 – This case involves the taking of an easement and right-of-way.  The defendants hired Steve J. Wilson (real estate valuation expert witness) to provide testimony on 1) the highest and best use of the property, 2) the “pre-taking” value of the property, 3) the “after-taking” value of the property, and 4) damages to the property resulting from the taking.  The plaintiff filed a motion to exclude the testimony based on credibility and accuracy.  The court concluded that the testimony of Mr. Wilson was admissible.
  3. Law Debenture Trust Company of New York v. WMC Mortgage, LLC et al – United States District Court – District of Connecticut – December 30th, 2015 – In this breach of contract case involving residential mortgage backed securities, the plaintiff hired Nelson R. Lipshutz, Ph.D as a statistics expert witness.  The defendant filed a Daubert motion to exclude this testimony on grounds of reliability.  The court denied the motion to exclude.
Continue reading

by
  1. Palacino et al v. Beech Mountain Resort, Inc. – United States District Court – Western District of North Carolina – December 11th, 2015 – This is a negligence and loss of consortium case involving falling ice.  The plaintiff claims that a ski resort was at fault for not preventing the incident.  Both parties have filed motions to exclude the expert witness testimony of the other.  The defendant seeks to exclude the testimony of Alan Campbell (engineering expert witness) and Scott Conklin (architecture expert witness). The plaintiffs move to exclude the testimony of Kenneth Crump (professional engineering expert witness) and Paul Baugher (risk management expert witness).  The court denied the motion to exclude the testimony of Alan Campbell, Scott Conklin, and Paul Baugher and granted the motion to exclude the testimony of Kenneth Crump.
  2. Emerson Electric Co. v. Suzhou Cleva Electric Applicance Co., Ltd. et al – United States District Court – Eastern District of Missouri – December 15th, 2015 – In this patent infringement case involving wet/dry vacuum cleaners, the testimony of two expert witnesses are challenged.  The defendant’s have challenged the expert witness testimony of  Ms. Donna Beck Smith (business valuation expert witness) and the plaintiff has filed a motion to exclude the testimony of Mark Gallagher (business valuation expert witness).  Both motions were granted in part and denied in part.
  3. Pallano, et al. v. AES Corp., et al. – Delaware Superior Court – New Castle County – December 11th, 2015 – In this environmental liability case, the plaintiff’s filed a motion to exclude the expert witness testimony of Samuel Moore, M.D (Gastroenterology expert witnesses) with regard to the causes of Hirschsprungs disease.  The court denied the motion to exclude Dr. Moore’s testimony.
Continue reading

by
  1. MEGAN E. BAAN, as the Personal Representative of the Estate of CHARLES CRAVEN MCALPIN, deceased, Appellant, v. COLUMBIA COUNTY – Court of Appeal of Florida – First District – December 8th, 2015 – This is an appeals of an negligence case related to the standard of care of emergency personnel when they respond to a 911 call.  The trial court found the plaintiff’s emergency medicine expert witnesses, Dr. David Tulsiak, inadmissible.  The plaintiff appealed and the appeals court reversed the opinion and remanded the case back to the trial court.
  2. Medlock v. Taco Bell Corp – United States District Court – Eastern District of California – December 9th, 2015 – This is an employment case related to an hour & wage dispute.  The plaintiffs have hired Dr. Danna Moore, an economics expert witness, to provide expert witness testimony and the defendant filed a motion to exclude this testimony.  The court denied the motion.
  3. Kemly v. Werner Co. – United States District Court – District of New Jersey – December 8th, 2015 – This is a products liability case involving a work platform.  The plaintiffs have filed suit against the manufacturer of the platform due to a slip and fall.  The plaintiffs have hired Ervin Leshner, a professional engineering expert witness, to provide expert witness testimony.  The defendant sought to exclude this testimony.  The court allowed the testimony of Mr. Leshner.
Continue reading