Articles Posted in Expert Witness News

Securities expert witnesses may testify regarding securities regulation, securities fraud, the NASD, and associated matters. In the news, the SEC is investigating whether Ernst & Young, one of the largest professional service firms in the world, violated auditor rules by allowing its lobbying unit to work for audit clients.

Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.

Medical malpractice expert witnesses may consult on issues involving medical negligence, healthcare providers malpractice, and medical malpractice litigation. In the news, PRWeb reports that overdoses from prescription painkillers kill an estimated 15,000 people each year in the US. Patients taking painkillers over a prolonged time often do not realize they will become addicted. The increase of overdose deaths has become a medical malpractice issue. Statistics show that approximately 40% of medical malpractice trials involve wrongful death. Personal injury attorney Richard P. Console Jr. believes dispensing powerful narcotics without regard for patient safety is “dangerous and absolutely careless.” Console is the founding and managing partner of the Philadelphia firm Console & Hollawell P.C.

http://www.consoleandhollawell.com/

Pharmacology experts may consult on issues involving pharmaceutical medicine, pharmaceutical companies, and drug prescriptions. In the news, the lawsuit begun in 2007 against Purdue Pharma was moved from New York federal court back to Pike Circuit Court in eastern Kentucky. The state’s Attorney General’s Office has charged Purdue Pharma with misleading consumers and health care providers on the addiction risk of OxyContin. Oxycontin has been blamed for hundreds of deaths as abuse of the painkiller has risen in the Appalachian region. Purdue Pharma L.P. is a privately held pharmaceutical company founded by physicians more than 60 years ago.

Transportation engineering expert witnesses may opine on barges, canals, and cargo vehicles, as well as related issues. In the news this weekend, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said that crews have been successful in removing bedrock along the Mississippi River to keep a channel in southern Illinois open. The worst U.S. drought in decades has made the river less navigable.

Finance expert witnesses may report and testify on corporate finance, financial analysis, financial databases, and related matters. In the news, Dennis Kelleher, President and Chief Executive Officer of the financial reform group Better Markets, said it is absurd that AIG may sue taxpayers over the terms of its bailout. Kelleher, previously a litigation partner with the international law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, also said however, that a lawsuit uncovering details of the bailout “might be a great public service.”

Better Markets is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes the public interest in financial reform in the domestic and global capital and commodity markets.

Pesticides expert witnesses may write reports and testify on pesticide contamination, insects, pesticide products, and pest control. On its website, The International HCH & Pesticides Association offers the title:

Obsolete (lethal) Pesticides, a ticking time bomb and why we have to act now.

Authors: John Vijgen, Director of the International HCH & Pesticides Association (IHPA)

Patents expert witnesses may opine on patent infringement, software patents, invention patents, and more. In the news this week, Carnegie Mellon University has been awarded almost $1.17B in its patent infringement lawsuit against Marvell Technology Group Ltd. The jury found that Marvell, maker of data storage chips, infringed on Carnegie Mellon technology patents while Marvell argued that the patents were not valid. The Pittsburg jury found that Marvell had sold billions of chips incorporating technology developed by Carnegie Mellon Professor Jose Moura and doctoral student Aleksandar Kavcic. Judge Nora Barry Fischer presided in the W.D. Pa. case (2:09-cv-00290-NBF).

Patents expert witnesses may opine on patent infringement, software patents, invention patents, and more. In the news this week, MobileMedia Ideas LLC won a patent case against Apple Inc. in the Wilmington, Delaware District Court. The jury decided that Apple infringed on patents for electronics in handheld devices.

The MobileMedia website states:

MobileMedia Ideas is the patent portfolio licensor of inventions adopted by manufacturers of smart phones, mobile phones and other portable devices including personal computers, laptops, netbooks, personal media players, e-book readers, cameras and hand-held game consoles.

Real estate appraisal expert witnesses may write reports and testify on commercial appraisals, fair market value, and residential real estate appraisal.

On its website, The Appraisal Institute offers Appraiser News Online, the Appraisal Institute’s free weekly e-newsletter that provides ongoing coverage of industry trends, legislative issues and regulatory developments affecting appraisers. The Appraisal Institute is a leader in residential and commercial real estate appraisal education. Webinars include Appraising Distressed Commercial Real Estate: Here We Go Again.

More info: http://www.appraisalinstitute.org/store/c-23-webinar-recordings.aspx

An ABA Section of Litigation Task Force was appointed by Section of Litigation Chair Hilarie Bass to explore the creation of guidelines for retention of experts by lawyers on behalf of their clients. At the August ABA annual meeting the ABA House of Delegates voted down the resolution to adopt the guidelines which described a set of uniform best practices for lawyers to follow when hiring experts. The control and administration of the ABA is vested in the House of Delegates, the policy-making body of the association.