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  1. Mendoza v. Lafarge North America, Inc. et al – United States District Court – Eastern District of Louisiana – January 13th, 2015 – In this personal injury case involving a motor vehicle and a cement-mixing truck, the plaintiff (Mendoza) has filed a motion to exclude the expert witness testimony of David W. Aiken, Jr, M.D. (orthopedic surgery expert witness).  Dr. Aiken was hired to offer an opinion on Mendoza’s medical condition and whether the accident caused the need for her neck surgery.  Dr. Aiken concluded that the accident did not cause Mendoza’s need for neck surgery.  Mendoza filed a motion stating that Dr. Aiken’s expert testimony was unreliable because he did not examine the plaintiff.  The court disagreed with her, stating that, under Daubert, expert witnesses need not examine a plaintiff to come to a reliable opinion.  Thus, the motion to exclude the evidence was denied.
  2. United States of America v. Mark Spangler – United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit – January 15th, 2016 – The defendant appeals the lower court opinion which convicted him of wire fraud, money laundering, and investment-advisor fraud.  Spangler maintains that the district court erred in excluding the expert witness testimony of John Keller (forensic accounting expert witness).  He maintains that Keller’s testimony would have been relevant as to his intent to defraud his clients.  The appeals court disagreed and affirmed the opinion of the lower court.
  3. Howard v. Offshore Liftboats, LLC et al – United States District Court – Eastern District of Louisiana – January 19th, 2016 – In this maritime personal injury case, the plaintiffs were injured while transferring a personnel basket from one ship to another.  The defendants filed separate motions to excluder the expert witness testimony of David Cole (admiralty & maritime expert witnesses).  Both of the objections were based on whether Cole was qualified to testify.  The court granted the motion filed by K&K Offshore and granted in part the motion filed by OLB.
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This is part one of a two-part post on a lengthy and detailed opinion.

Plaintiffs sued the manufacturer of the airplane they were on when it crashed.  Both parties called numerous experts to assist in proving their case.  The court denied most of the motions, but granted some in part.

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  1. In re: William and Myo Shears – United States District Court – Western District of Washington – January 4th, 2016 – This is an admiralty litigation involving a fire on a motor yacht.  The petitioners initiated this case for Exoneration or Limitation of liability as they became aware that their vessel may have caused the fire and caused damage to other vessels in their dock.  The petitioners have asked the court exclude the expert witness testimony of Richard Carman (Fire Expert Witness) as unreliable.  The court deemed that any objections to the expert witness testimony should go to the weight, not the admissibility.
  2. Hooks v. Ferguson – Court of Appeals of Michigan – January 5th, 2016 – This is a medical malpractice case involving a laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery.  During the surgery, improperly placed clips on the cystic duct caused a blocked common bile duct.  The plaintiff sued the doctor for malpractice and hired Leonard F. Milewski (General Surgery Expert Witnesses) to assist in proving her case.  The defendant filed a motion to exclude Dr. Milewski’s opinion, stating that it was a “negligence per se” standard as well as not meeting all of the factors in connection with MCL 600.  The trial court agreed, excluding the witness and granting summary judgment.  The appeals court disagreed, and reversed the opinion.

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Seven experts proffered by the plaintiffs and three experts proffered by the defendants were challenged by the opposing parties.   The court ruled that most of the objections go to the weight of the testimony and not the admissibility and, thus, both motions are denied in their entirety (with limited exceptions).

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  1. PHILLIP JACKSON BAILEY, Appellant, v. STATE OF ALASKA, Appellee – Alaska Court of Appeals – December 16th, 2015 – This case is an appeal of a first-degree murder conviction.  The Appellant maintains that the trial court erred when it limited the testimony of his deadly/excessive force expert witnesses Donald Mann.  The court affirmed the trial court opinion.
  2. United States of America v. An Easement and Right-of-Way Over 3.11 Acres of Land, More or Less, in Warren County, Kentucky et al – United States District Court – Western District of Kentucky – December 18th, 2015 – This case involves the taking of an easement and right-of-way.  The defendants hired Steve J. Wilson (real estate valuation expert witness) to provide testimony on 1) the highest and best use of the property, 2) the “pre-taking” value of the property, 3) the “after-taking” value of the property, and 4) damages to the property resulting from the taking.  The plaintiff filed a motion to exclude the testimony based on credibility and accuracy.  The court concluded that the testimony of Mr. Wilson was admissible.
  3. Law Debenture Trust Company of New York v. WMC Mortgage, LLC et al – United States District Court – District of Connecticut – December 30th, 2015 – In this breach of contract case involving residential mortgage backed securities, the plaintiff hired Nelson R. Lipshutz, Ph.D as a statistics expert witness.  The defendant filed a Daubert motion to exclude this testimony on grounds of reliability.  The court denied the motion to exclude.
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A female sued a retail clothing store for negligence following an episode at the store.  The plaintiff (Jane Doe) hired two experts to assist in her case, both of which were challenged by the defendant.  The court granted the motion for her technology expert and denied the motion regarding her security expert.

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  1. Palacino et al v. Beech Mountain Resort, Inc. – United States District Court – Western District of North Carolina – December 11th, 2015 – This is a negligence and loss of consortium case involving falling ice.  The plaintiff claims that a ski resort was at fault for not preventing the incident.  Both parties have filed motions to exclude the expert witness testimony of the other.  The defendant seeks to exclude the testimony of Alan Campbell (engineering expert witness) and Scott Conklin (architecture expert witness). The plaintiffs move to exclude the testimony of Kenneth Crump (professional engineering expert witness) and Paul Baugher (risk management expert witness).  The court denied the motion to exclude the testimony of Alan Campbell, Scott Conklin, and Paul Baugher and granted the motion to exclude the testimony of Kenneth Crump.
  2. Emerson Electric Co. v. Suzhou Cleva Electric Applicance Co., Ltd. et al – United States District Court – Eastern District of Missouri – December 15th, 2015 – In this patent infringement case involving wet/dry vacuum cleaners, the testimony of two expert witnesses are challenged.  The defendant’s have challenged the expert witness testimony of  Ms. Donna Beck Smith (business valuation expert witness) and the plaintiff has filed a motion to exclude the testimony of Mark Gallagher (business valuation expert witness).  Both motions were granted in part and denied in part.
  3. Pallano, et al. v. AES Corp., et al. – Delaware Superior Court – New Castle County – December 11th, 2015 – In this environmental liability case, the plaintiff’s filed a motion to exclude the expert witness testimony of Samuel Moore, M.D (Gastroenterology expert witnesses) with regard to the causes of Hirschsprungs disease.  The court denied the motion to exclude Dr. Moore’s testimony.
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