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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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  1. MEGAN E. BAAN, as the Personal Representative of the Estate of CHARLES CRAVEN MCALPIN, deceased, Appellant, v. COLUMBIA COUNTY – Court of Appeal of Florida – First District – December 8th, 2015 – This is an appeals of an negligence case related to the standard of care of emergency personnel when they respond to a 911 call.  The trial court found the plaintiff’s emergency medicine expert witnesses, Dr. David Tulsiak, inadmissible.  The plaintiff appealed and the appeals court reversed the opinion and remanded the case back to the trial court.
  2. Medlock v. Taco Bell Corp – United States District Court – Eastern District of California – December 9th, 2015 – This is an employment case related to an hour & wage dispute.  The plaintiffs have hired Dr. Danna Moore, an economics expert witness, to provide expert witness testimony and the defendant filed a motion to exclude this testimony.  The court denied the motion.
  3. Kemly v. Werner Co. – United States District Court – District of New Jersey – December 8th, 2015 – This is a products liability case involving a work platform.  The plaintiffs have filed suit against the manufacturer of the platform due to a slip and fall.  The plaintiffs have hired Ervin Leshner, a professional engineering expert witness, to provide expert witness testimony.  The defendant sought to exclude this testimony.  The court allowed the testimony of Mr. Leshner.
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  1. Mm Steel, LP v. JSW Steel (USA), Inc – United States Court of Appeals For The Fifth Circuit – November 25th, 2015 – This is an appeal of a district court opinion related to the Sherman Act and the steel industry.  The plaintiff’s claim that the steel distributors formed an illegal conspiracy to deprive them of steel.  The defendants appealed a jury trial order of $150 million dollars in damages.  Part of the appeal involved the Daubert motion by the defendants to exclude the economics expert witness, Stephen P Magee, hired by the plaintiffs.  The appeals court denied this part of the appeal.
  2. Nettleson et al v. Ford Motor Company – United States District Court – Northern District of California – November 25th, 2015 – This case involves an alleged design defect in the backlight on the rear liftgate of certain automobiles.  The defect would cause an “ejection portal” through which people and objects might fly.  Each party called numerous experts, which were subsequently challenged.  The plaintiff’s hired the following experts: Henry Chamberlain (a glass expert witness), Don Phillips (Accident Reconstruction & Safety Expert Witness), Carl Locke, Ph.D (Metallurgy Expert Witnesses), and Richard Hixenbaugh (Automobile Appraisal Expert Witness).  The defendant called Diane Wood, Ph.D (Behavioral Science Expert Witness).  The court granted the motion to exclude the testimony of all of these experts and granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant.
  3. John Lee Taylor vs Seketa Culver – Court of Appeal of Florida – First District – December 1st, 2015 – In this personal injury action arising out of a automobile collision, the appellant maintains that the lower court improperly excluded her biomechanics expert witness.  The appeals court agreed and reversed the opinion.
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In this medical malpractice action, the plaintiff sued her doctor after having a deleterious reaction to a procedure performed by the SmartLipo laser.  The plaintiffs hired an expert to opine on causation and accepted medical practices.  The defendant filed motions to exclude the testimony and it was partially granted.

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  1. ALBERT E. GUCKER Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION – United States District Court – Western District of Pennsylvania – November 23rd 2015 – This is an employment discrimination case for violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.  The defendant filed a motion to exclude the testimony of Donal F. Kirwan, a human resources expert witness.  The court denied the motion.
  2. Gill v. State Farm Lloyds – United States District Court – Eastern District of Texas – November 23rd, 2015 – This case involves an insurance coverage dispute over damage to a residence after a wind and hail storm.  The plaintiff hired Steven Richardson, a construction expert witness and the defendant challenged based on qualification and reliability.  The motion was denied by the court.
  3. State of Minnesota v. Jason DeWayne Kirk – State of Minnesota Court of Appeals – November 23rd, 2015 – The defendant in this case appeals a conviction of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.  He states that the trial court improperly excluded the testimony of his sanity/trial competency expert witness Dr. Deborah Davis, who was called to testify on false confessions.  The appeals court affirms the opinion of the lower court.
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HIPAA Expert Witness Michael Arrigo provides the following Healthcare Policy Update: CMS Suspends Payment on Certain ICD-10 Claims
CMS Systems Not Ready for All NCDs and LCDs

We may be seeing one of the first latent indicators of the financial impact of ICD-10 with today’s announcement. CMS stated in a November 20th 2015 email that its systems are being updated to accommodate ICD-10 NCDs and LCDs. This also resulted in “temporary” suspensions of payments for LCDs. CMS states, “Claims affected by these edits were temporarily suspended.”

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