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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.

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License agreement expert witnesses may consult on patent infringement, patentability requirements, license agreement terms and associated matters. Michelle L. Briggs and Charles Krukiel discuss technology license agreements including license grants, license term, and rights to improvements in an article for the Association of Corporate Counsel. They caution that every technology license agreement is unique. “There is really no such thing as a ‘standard’ clause.”

Read more: http://www.lexology.com/library/.

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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.

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At LawTimes.com orthopedic trauma surgery expert Dr. Michael Ford offers an expert witness checklist in orthopedic cases. Ford says sometimes attorneys don’t know what information the expert needs for their case. He offers a checklist here:

http://www.lawtimesnews.com/201303119665/Commentary/Speaker-s-Corner-An-expert-witness-friendly-advice-on-information-he-needs-from-lawyers
Dr. Michael Ford is an orthopedic spine and trauma surgeon at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre who has more than 20 years of medical legal experience.

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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/

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Trucking expert witnesses may opine on issues involving the trucking industry, the Department of Transportation, trucking safety, truck maintenance, and trucking and transportation rules and regulations. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration maintains a company safety records database that is searchable by company name, USDOT number, or motor carrier number.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety-security/sites/company-safety.htm

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Insurance expert witnesses may advise on issues involving insurance claims, insurance adjusters, insurance agencies, and insurance fraud. The Insurance Claims And Issues blog entry A SHORT VISIT TO THE ADJUSTMENT OF CLAIMS discusses adjusters and independent adjusters.

Adjusting insurance claims sometimes seems like the opposite of what Mark Twain said about the weather: ‘Everybody is doing something about it, but nobody talks about it.’ This article will focus on that issue.

Claims are adjusted by an adjuster who is someone in the employ of the insurance company, or specially retained by it for a given claim or set of claims.

Continue reading

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Internet expert witnesses may consult on social media, internet browsers, internet security, and related matters. In the news, Google Inc. will pay $7M to 38 states over its collection of personal data from 2008 to May 2010. Google Street View cars drove down public streets and gathered WiFi network information for their geolocation services. Google Senior Vice President and General Counsel Kent Walker signed an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance on March 8, 2013.

Read document: http://hawaii.gov/dcca/ocp/news-releases/Assurance%20AVC%20Google.pdf

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In The Expert Witness: Selecting and Managing A Vital Resource, attorney Dennis Wall, Insurance Claims and Issues Group, Inc., writes on managing expert witnesses. In the article he discusses the “gatekeeper” model for the admission of expert opinion testimony as well as admissible testimony. Mr. Wall is the author of Litigation and Prevention of Insurer Bad Faith and co-author of CAT Claims: Insurance Coverage for Natural and Man-Made Disasters.

Read more: http://www.propertycasualty360.com

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Engineering expert witness Richard Heenan testified last week before U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier that British Petroleum and Transocean Ltd. officials mishandles safety tests on the Deepwater Horizon. Pressure tests were misread before the rig exploded and killed eleven people. Heenan is with Canadian Engineering Petroleum, Inc., and has supervised projects both onshore and offshore.

Bloomberg reports more: www.bloomberg.com.