Articles Posted in Expert Witness News

Trucking expert witnesses may opine on emission requirements, federal motor carrier safety regulations, and related subjects. TruckstopUSA.com reports that the federal government proposed the first regulations limiting fuel consumption of work trucks – from big-rig trucks to concrete mixers, buses, even heavy-duty pickups – saying the rules finally address the thirstiest and most-polluting vehicles on the road.

Though the emphasis is on semi-tractor rigs and other big trucks, the regulations would apply to vehicles as small as those with an 8,500-pound gross vehicle weight rating (the safe weight of the truck and cargo combined) – a Ford F-250 pickup or equivalent.

The heavy-truck rules would join fuel-economy rules for passenger vehicles that require automakers to average 35.5 miles per gallon in 2016. A recent proposal would push that to as much as 62 mpg in 2025.

Copyrights expert witnesses may opine on copyright infringement, copyright notice, and copyright limitations. The Recording Industry vs. the People blog reports:

In the Minnesota case Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset, law school professor Charles Nesson, who represents Joel Tenenbaum, in a Massachusetts case, has been admitted pro hac vice to assist in representing defendant. The defendant’s lawyers are former students of his. The trial commenced November 2nd.

In addition,

Polymers expert witnesses may opine on conductive polymers, monomers, and related topics. In Canada’s Announcement Regarding BPA is Contrary to the Weight of Worldwide Scientific Evidence, the American Chemistry Council’s October 13, 2010 news release states:

In response to the Canadian Minister of the Environment today announcing the decision to list bisphenol A (BPA) as a toxic substance under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, Steven G. Hentges, Ph.D., Polycarbonate/BPA Global Group of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) made the following comments:

“Just days after the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) once again confirmed that BPA is safe for use in food-contact items, Environment Canada’s announcement is contrary to the weight

of worldwide scientific evidence, unwarranted and will unnecessarily confuse and alarm the public.

Trucking expert witnesses may opine on emission requirements, federal motor carrier safety regulations, and related subjects. TruckstopUSA.com reports that the federal government proposed the first regulations limiting fuel consumption of work trucks – from big-rig trucks to concrete mixers, buses, even heavy-duty pickups – saying the rules finally address the thirstiest and most-polluting vehicles on the road.

The proposal, which would take effect with 2014 models and ratchet up through 2018 models, requires a public comment period and other procedures, and wouldn’t be final until next year. The rules would raise the cost of trucks and the diesel engines most of them use, but the government says the payback in fuel-cost savings would be as fast as one year for heavily used over-the-road trucks.

Even so, “We are concerned that this could price some buyers out of the market,” says Kyle Treadway, chairman of the American Truck Dealers and owner of a Kenworth dealership in Salt Lake City. Lower fuel consumption is good, he agrees, but the federal proposal “is expected to add thousands of dollars to the cost per truck.”

Risk management plans expert witnesses may write reports on risk analysis, enterprise risk management, financial risk management, and more. In A Broader View Of Risk, Risk Management Magazine, October 2010, Lori Widmer writes:

Risk management warnings often go unheard. And while it is easy to blame leadership, it is part of risk management’s job to feed the information up the chain of command. “A risk manager has to be the voice in the company who keeps risk salient whether it be systemic risk that is somewhat outside the company’s control or risks specific to the company,” says Joe Peiser, partner and COO at RMI Consulting. “It’s not always a comfortable place to be, and you don’t always get listened to, but frankly, that’s the risk manager’s job.”

Injury reconstruction expert witnesses with the Colorado State Patrol will do a reconstruction of the accident at a Bradley gas station in Arapahoe County, where 62-year-old Sandra Fredin of Denver suffered fatal injuries after being hit by a car. Fredin left the store and was walking in an unoccupied parking space when a Dodge Magnum driven by Byron Bailey, 43, of Denver pulled into the space and hit Fredin.

Experts will use computer video to produce a second-by-second analysis of what transpired. Once the reconstruction and witness interviews are complete, the information will be forwarded to the Arapahoe County district attorney’s office to determine if any charges will be filed. One potential charge is careless driving resulting in death
Read more: denverpost.com.

Risk management expert witnesses may opine on enterprise risk management, credit risk, market risk, and more. The Risk Management Association is presenting Counterparty Risk Management and Control: Best Practices October 19-20, New York, NY.

Course Overview Measuring and mitigating counterparty default risk has been one of the risk management topics that challenged risk professionals in the past 10-15 years. Since the inception of OTC derivative contracts trading on a global scale, there were very few situations (Drexel, LTCM, Barings, Lehman Brothers) where practitioners could test the effectiveness of ISDA Master Netting Agreements and collateral agreements in stressed markets. The financial crisis that commenced in 2007 has offered an unprecedented laboratory for such research. This two-day course on counterparty risk purports to draw conclusions from the most recent events and comments on what features make a sturdy counterparty risk framework.

The course will focus on methodologies, limit systems, and processes along with day-to-day management techniques used by leading global financial institutions.

On his website, Consultox.com, environmental toxicology expert witness Dr. Roger A Parent writes on generic drugs:

In June 2009 the US FDA’s Office of Generic Drugs issued, “Guidance for Industry; ANDAs: Impurities in Drug Substances” which basically follows the Q3A, Q3B, Q3C ICH guidelines. These guidelines focus on Drug Substances and covers original abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs), drug master files(DMFs), including Type II DMFs and ANDA supplements for changes in the synthesis or processing of a drug substance.

The guidance provides recommendations for establishing acceptance criteria for impurities in drug substances and recommends that the specifications for a Drug Substance include a list of impurities. A rational for the inclusion or exclusion of impurities should be included. As indicated in the ICH guidelines, if an impurity cannot be identified, then the efforts made to identify the impurity should be included if present at a level greater than the identification threshold given in ICH Q3A. Organic and inorganic impurities should be considered as well as residual solvent.

Mortgage expert witnesses may opine on mortgage fraud, residential mortgages, and wholesale mortgages, among other topics. TheStreet.com reported this week that Bank of America said it will stop originating mortgages through brokers, the latest sign of caution among lenders that are grappling with a horde of buyback requests, lawsuits and fraud accusations stemming from loans that were originated carelessly.

As mortgage delinquencies, defaults and foreclosures have continued to pile up across the nation, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac began pushing back loans to servicers last year. Over the weekend, news broke that Bank of America had halted foreclosures in dozens of states due to a raft of litigation stemming from paperwork errors. JPMorgan and GMAC Mortgage followed suit while an array of other large lenders, including Citi, U.S. Bancorp, HSBC and PNC Financial Services, are reportedly scrutinizing their foreclosure processes at regulators’ behest.

The so-called “originate to sell” model is central to the problem banks are now facing in regards to buybacks. Mortgage originators had little reason to care about what happened to mortgages once they left the balance sheet via securitization. As a result, those working directly with customers had been trying to push as many applications through the pipeline as quickly as possible, leading to paperwork errors that investors have seized upon to force servicers to buy back debt.

Mortgage expert witnesses may opine on mortgage fraud, residential mortgages, and wholesale mortgages, among other topics. TheStreet.com reported this week that Bank of America said it will stop originating mortgages through brokers, the latest sign of caution among lenders that are grappling with a horde of buyback requests, lawsuits and fraud accusations stemming from loans that were originated carelessly.

Bank of America isn’t the first lender to pare back its wholesale mortgage operations. JPMorgan Chase did the same thing last year, citing the fact that loans originated in-house performed better than those that came from brokers. Citigroup began downsizing its wholesale operations in 2008.

“By exiting the first mortgage wholesale channel, we can redirect critical operational resources to further enhance our capabilities in direct-to-consumer channels,” Barbara Desoer, who heads Bank of America’s mortgage division, said in a statement. “This is an investment in strengthening our competitive position.”