Expert Witness Blog

In Property & Casualty Insurance Procurement & Litigation (Ten Recurring Themes Every Lawyer Should Know) insurance expert witness David L. Stegall, CPCU, ARM, ARe, RPA, of Risk Consulting & Expert Services writes on ten recurring themes that often lead to litigation. Attorneys either dealing in insurance procurement litigation issues or with clients who purchase insurance may want to consider these ten themes:

Theme 2 of 10 Premium payment is the basis of which all other obligations follow. Paying premiums to an agent of an insurance company is ordinarily the same as paying the insurance company. Is the person for whom your client is buying the insurance an agent or a broker? This information is usually not on the proposal. An insurance buyer needs to be sure the premium is paid to the insurance company or the company’s authorized representative (i.e., Agent) and not to a broker, who is not an authorized representative of the insurance company. The cases of brokers taking premiums from their clients and not conveying the money to the insurance company is, unfortunately, more common than one might expect and for this reason, payment to the insurance company is preferred.

Lesson #2: Your client (the Insurance buyer) knows they have purchased insurance if they have paid for it – so the buyer needs to make sure the premiums are paid to the insurance company.

Forensic toxicology expert witness Dr. Connie Luckie testified Friday in the Hampton, VA, case against Jesse Evans Jr. Evans is charged with killing two university students and injurying three others in a wrong way head on collision. Dr. Luckie testified that Evans’ his blood alcohol level was 0.26, which would have taken 10 to 12 beers within an hour. Alcohol as found in both vehicles. Dr. Luckie is a forensic scientist for the state of Virginia.

International patents expert witnesses may opine on international patents and licensing, drug patents, patent prosecution, and patent infringement. The USPTO describes the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (effective 3/16/13):

“Migration to a first-inventor-to-file system will bring greater transparency, objectivity, predictability, and simplicity to patentability determinations and is another step towards harmonizing U.S. patent law with that of other industrialized countries,” said Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Acting Director of the USPTO Teresa Stanek Rea.

Prior to the passage of the AIA, the USPTO was the only national patent office using a “first-to-invent” system. First-inventor-to-file complements USPTO’s existing efforts toward greater harmonization with foreign counterparts. One result of these efforts is the Cooperative Patent Classification system launched on January 1st of this year, a common classification system that will enhance the examination capabilities of both the USPTO and the European Patent Office. Another such effort is USPTO’s ongoing coordination with the world’s largest patent offices–the so-called Tegernsee Group dialogues. The USPTO currently is seeking comment on these initiatives.

Pesticides expert witnesses may provide reports concerning pesticide regulations, fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and related matters. San Francisco Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero heard arguments Friday regarding dismissal of The Center for Biological Diversity and Pesticide Action Network North America case against the EPA. The Center charges the EPA with failing to assess the impacts of hundreds of pesticides known to be harmful to more than 200 endangered and threatened species.

The lawsuit seeks protection from harmful pesticides for 212 endangered and threatened species throughout the United States, including Florida panthers, California condors, piping plovers, black-footed ferrets, arroyo toads, Indiana bats, bonytail chubs and Alabama sturgeon. Documents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and EPA, as well as peer-reviewed scientific studies, show that these species can be harmed by the more than 300 pesticides at issue.

Patents expert witnesses may consult on software patents, invention patents, and international patents, as well as related issues. The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) went into effect March 16, 2013. Patent applications will be judged by “first to file” replacing “first to invent.” The USPTO Release 13-10 USPTO Publishes Final Rules and Guidelines Governing First-Inventor-to-File states:

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today published final rules of practice implementing the first-inventor-to-file provision of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA). The provision, one of the hallmarks of the AIA, is a major step towards harmonization of the U.S. patent system with those of the United States’ major trading partners, allowing greater consistency in the prosecution and enforcement of U.S. patents. The AIA also includes safeguards to ensure that only an original inventor or his assignee may be awarded a patent under the first-inventor-to-file system. The first-inventor-to-file provision of the AIA goes into effect on March 16, 2013, and represents the final implementation of the changes mandated by the AIA.

Hours of service expert witnesses may write reports and testify on trucking, the trucking industry, and trucking and transportation rules and regulations. The DOT website states that most drivers must follow the HOS Regulations if they drive a commercial motor vehicle.

The Hours of Service of Drivers Final Rule was published in the Federal Register on December 27, 2011. The effective date of the Final Rule is February 27, 2012, and the compliance date of selected provisions is July 1, 2013.

Read more: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/