Articles Posted in Expert Witness Testimony

Changes to the way California manages its water delivery system are in the works, including options that avoid central pumps at the south end of the Sacramento Delta, known to harm fish. The plan is to make improvements not only to the pumping system, but also to establish habitat where aquatic and land animals can recover. At a Northern Sacramento Valley Water Forum held in Chico Wednesday, experts discussed the status of the process, with about 100 people in attendance.

Chuck Hanson, a fish biology expert witness, has written more that 75 scientific reports and called as an expert witness for state and federal court cases. Hanson displayed graphs that showed that in the last decade many fish species have declined dramatically. “The message is that what we’re doing isn’t working,” Hanson said.

For more, see chicoer.com.

A Symmes Township, OH, man was sentenced Monday to 180 days in jail for street racing and aggravated vehicular homicide in a Clermont County crash that took the life of a friend riding in his hot-rod car. Purcell’s car was going 70 to 90 mph at the time of the fatal wreck, according to an accident reconstruction expert witness.

Dustin Purcell, 21, had faced up to five years in prison when sentenced by Judge Victor M. Haddad of Common Pleas Court. The prosecution recommended that he be put on probation for five years with the understanding he would speak to kids about the risks of reckless driving. The souped-up 1992 Honda Civic LX driven by Purcell ran off the right side of the narrow, two-lane road, hit a ditch and flipped over three times about 12:22 a.m.

For more, see cincinnati.com.

All lawsuits filed in federal court against Pfizer over alleged side effects of Chantix, their popular smoking cessation treatment, have been centralized for pretrial litigation before U.S. District Judge Inge Prytz Johnson in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL). The cases involve similar allegations that Pfizer failed to adequately research their medication or warn about the risk of suicide from Chantix or other psychological side effects.

Experts, including neuropsychology expert witnesses, must be designated by April 2011 and May 2011, for the Plaintiffs and Defendants respectively, with expert depositions set to begin in July 2011 and conclude by October 3, 2011. Motions practice on general causation and liability will then occur through the end of 2011, with case specific expert discovery not permitted to begin until after the Court decides the issues that are generally applicable to cases in the litigation.

For more, see aboutlawsuits.com.

In July 2008, plaintiff Ted Slaughter filed a medical malpractice lawsuit claiming he was not promptly treated by the Beaumont Bone & Joint Institute after cutting his left hand in a circular saw. Slaughter alleges the delay led to the amputation of his right index finger. On March 4, justices seated on the Texas Ninth District Court of Appeals issued a memorandum opinion that partially reversed the lower courts ruling which kept several Beaumont Bone & Joint employees trapped in the ongoing litigation.

The clinic, in its appellate brief, argued that the “trial court abused its discretion in failing to dismiss (Slaughter’s) claims of direct negligence … when these claims were not (thoroughly) discussed in any expert report.” Conversely, Slaughter argued the appellate court lacks jurisdiction over the matter and claimed the medical malpractice expert witness report does not have to conform to Texas civil law since “no new claims were made in the amended petition.”

For more, see Southeast Texas Recordhttp://www.setexasrecord.com/.

At least 51 witnesses may be called upon by the Park District of La Grange, IL, to provide testimony in an upcoming Cook County Circuit Court hearing in support of its petition to sell 2.82 acres of Gordon Park to developer Atlantic Realty Partners. Experts named in the document include real estate valuation expert witness Patricia L. McGarr and real estate expert witness Brian L. Paupore, both of Integra Realty Resources. Witnesses recognized by the court as experts may include opinions in their testimony where appropriate, whereas other witnesses may only speak to the factual nature of any evidence presented.

The Park District reserved the right to add additional witnesses at a later date. Judge Susan Fox Gillis has not yet set a date for the presentation of testimony, but the next status hearing is scheduled for Feb. 19.

For more, see http://everythinglagrange.typepad.com.

The trial of Stanley Cole, who is accused of murdering his girlfriend, Jackson State University student Latasha Norman, is set to begin February 8 in the Circuit Court of Hinds County, Mississippi. The evidence against Stanley Cole at this point includes: (a) he confessed to murdering Natasha Norman; (b) he confessed to placing her in the trunk of his car; and (c) he went out on a date with another woman while Latasha Norman’s corpse was in his trunk. There is DNA evidence that places Latasha Norman’s blood in Stanley Cole’s trunk. Circuit Judge Swan Yerger postponed Cole’s murder trial to make sure pathology expert witness Dr. Steven Hayne will be available to testify.

Source: criminaldefenseblog.net.

Michael Dean and Lucinda Stone, owners of Function Media, claim Google products infringe their ‘025 and ‘059 patents. The patents involve taking raw data and automatically formatting customized advertisements to be published on Web sites. Function Media is seeking $600 million in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, which is 12 percent of royalties from Googles’ AdSense for Content program. Function Media claims that it is their technology Google is using to create and publish customized advertisement on sites.

Software development expert witness Mark Lanning testified that he did not believe Google is guilty of infringement while Ms. Stone said she discovered similarities in Function Media and Google’s programs while using Google’s AdSense to publish ads on her own Web site in 2004. According to Google’s AdSense for content Web site, the free program allows Web site publishers to display relevant Google ads on their content pages and earn money from valid clicks or impressions. Google reportedly generated more $5 billion in revenue from the program.

For more, see marshallnewsmessenger.com.

Information technology expert witness Mark Lanning testified Monday for Google in the case of Function Media versus Google. Michael Dean and Lucinda Stone, owners of Function Media, claim the Google products infringe their ‘025 and ‘059 patents. The patents involve taking raw data and automatically formatting customized advertisements to be published on Web sites.

During his testimony in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Lanning said he did not believe Google is guilty of infringement for a few reasons:

Google does not permit advertisers to input information to create an electronic advertisement customized to selected “Internet media venue’s presentation rules.” Presentation rules refer to the color, layout and content of a site.

Bear Stearns former lawyer Raymond Aronson is to testify as a securities expert witness against Bear Stearns. The bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods is suing Bear over allegedly overpriced bonds Bear hedge funds sold nearly three years ago. Keefe hired Aronson, who is currently with Sutter Securities Group, Inc., to testify as an expert witness on legal and industry practices related to prime brokerage and clearing transactions in the pending arbitration case. Aronson worked 29 years for Bears Stearns until 2004.

For more, see www.businessinsider.com.

The obvious signs of Neil Beagley’s failing health gave his parents ample warning that the teenager needed immediate medical treatment, a doctor testified Friday. Pediatric urology expert witness Dr. Edward Guillery, who specializes in childhood kidney disease, said that a record of the boy’s food consumption clearly signaled his decline. “The fact that there was (a record) is what really caught my attention,” Guillery said. Food journals “usually reflect a significant concern that something is wrong.”

The boy’s parents, Jeffrey and Marci Beagley, are charged with criminally negligent homicide for failing to provide medical care for Neil, who died in June 2008. The family belong to Followers of Christ, an Oregon City church that generally relies on faith-healing rather than doctors and medicine.

For more, see oregonlive.com.