Mealey's Daubert

  • March 18, 2024

    11th Circuit: Expert Testimony Properly Admitted In Rehab Fraud Convictions

    ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction of two brothers for charges stemming from the fraudulent operation of drug rehabilitation clinics, rejecting among other arguments their contention that the trial court erred in admitting expert testimony.

  • March 18, 2024

    Narcotics Expert Barred From Testifying For Officer On Reasonableness Of Search

    NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge found that “experience and expertise alone are insufficient to satisfy” the admissibility requirements of Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and granted a man’s motion to exclude a law enforcement and narcotics expert from testifying in a civil rights action stemming from a police stop.

  • March 15, 2024

    Expert On Art Market Can Testify In Dispute Over Sale Of Basquiat Painting

    NEW YORK — An expert retained in an in rem action to foreclose a lien and to obtain an order permitting the sale of a painting valued at $14 million may testify, a New York magistrate judge ruled March 14, finding that he is “qualified to serve as an expert on art industry standards for underwriting asset-back loans secured by pieces of art.”

  • March 15, 2024

    Monsanto Again Seeks To Exclude Witness In Roundup Case, This Time Under Daubert

    SAN FRANCISCO — Monsanto Co. has filed a motion in California federal court seeking to exclude a plaintiffs’ expert witness in a glyphosate cancer lawsuit for a second time, arguing that under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the witness’ testimony does not “fit” the facts of the case and is based on debunked science.

  • March 13, 2024

    Summary Judgment Denied To State Farm In Dispute Over Concealed SSDI Application

    DENVER  — A Colorado federal judge denied State Farm’s motion for summary judgment in a bad faith and breach of contract suit filed against it over coverage for an insured’s uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) claims related to an auto accident, finding that the insured did “not technically” make false statements regarding her application for Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) that would void her insurance policy for fraud.

  • March 13, 2024

    As Tax Penalty Row Over Microcaptives Nears Jury Trial, Parties Seek Exclusions

    FORT MYERS, Fla. — After a Florida federal judge denied motions for summary judgment and to preclude the testimony of three experts in consolidated cases involving promotion of purported microcaptive insurance companies, the parties asked the court to exclude certain evidence and terms from the approaching jury trial.

  • March 13, 2024

    Judge Strikes Expert Testimony, Denies Class Certification In Suit Against GEICO

    CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge on March 12 granted insurers’ motion to strike the insureds’ expert testimony and denied the insureds’ motion for certification of two classes in their lawsuit alleging that the insurers violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act by charging “excessive” premiums during the COVID-19 pandemic that failed to account for a dramatic reduction in driving, finding that the insureds failed to establish predominance to warrant class certification.

  • March 13, 2024

    Mississippi Appeals Court Finds Expert Properly Admitted, Affirms Conviction

    JACKSON, Miss. — A man convicted of participating in a deadly robbery failed to convince a Mississippi appeals court that the trial court erred in allowing a deputy coroner to testify about the cause of death of the victim, also rejecting his other arguments on appeal.

  • March 12, 2024

    Government: Expert In Water Case Warrants Exclusion, Fails To Explain Methodology

    HONOLULU — The U.S. government has filed a reply brief in Hawaii federal court arguing that it should strike one of the plaintiffs’ experts in a groundwater contamination case because it is “impossible to verify” whether he applied what is called “grounded theory” appropriately in light of the fact that he refuses to provide details about the methodology he uses to reach his opinions.

  • March 11, 2024

    Judge: Causation, Life Care Expert Admissible In Accident Injury Case

    PHILADELPHIA — Experts retained to testify for a man who alleges that he was injured in a motor vehicle accident clear the “low bar for admissibility,” a Pennsylvania federal judge found, denying a motion to exclude under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc.

  • March 08, 2024

    Expert On Credit Reports, Credit Scores Can Testify, Arizona Federal Judge Says

    PHOENIX — An expert retained by a credit reporting agency can testify in a suit filed by a couple alleging that the agency wrongfully reported a foreclosure on their home in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), an Arizona federal judge ruled, rejected the couple’s argument that his testimony was inadmissible under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc.

  • March 06, 2024

    Settlement Reached In Malpractice Suit After Expert Testimony Is Limited

    SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A federal judge in Puerto Rico dismissed a medical malpractice suit with prejudice when parties alerted the court that they had reached a confidential settlement, days after the judge agreed to exclude testimony from an expert on standard of care but allowed testimony from a life-care planning expert.

  • March 05, 2024

    5th Circuit: Causation Expert Properly Excluded In Deepwater Horizon Injury Case

    NEW ORLEANS — A district court properly excluded a man’s medical expert after finding that he failed to show causation in a lawsuit against BP Exploration & Production Inc. related to his injuries through the exposure to chemicals during the cleanup operation that followed the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held.

  • March 04, 2024

    Judge Denies Expert Preclusion Bids, Most Other Motions In ERISA Fees, Funds Case

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — Ruling on requests to preclude testimony and exclude evidence in a consolidated Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action over fees and funds, a California federal judge denied seven motions by the defendants and one by the plaintiffs, partly granting just one motion by the plaintiffs.

  • March 01, 2024

    Expert Cannot Opine On Cheer Company’s Intent In Overcharging Dispute

    MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Tennessee federal judge ruled that an expert retained by parents of competitive cheerleading athletes who allege that they overpaid for cheer competitions and apparel cannot opine on the company’s intent, but otherwise largely denied a motion to exclude his testimony.

  • February 29, 2024

    South Carolina Top Court Rejects Cumulative Exposure Argument, Affirms Verdict

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — Expert testimony and other evidence that led to an asbestos verdict did not constitute cumulative exposure theory, and lower court rulings did not run afoul of the state’s causation standard, the South Carolina Supreme Court said Feb. 28.

  • February 29, 2024

    Public Adjuster Can Testify In Coverage Suit For Hurricane Damage

    LAKE CHARLES, La. — A Louisiana federal judge denied an insurer’s motion to exclude expert testimony from a public adjuster in a coverage dispute stemming from a hurricane, finding that the insurer’s arguments are not grounds for exclusion.

  • February 28, 2024

    ASD-ADHD MDL Judge Sets Deadlines To Object To Causation Experts, Tosses Cases

    NEW YORK — The New York federal judge overseeing the acetaminophen autism spectrum disorder-attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ASD-ADHD) multidistrict litigation on Feb. 27 ordered that any objections on whether testimony by a newly named causation expert is admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 be filed by July 1.

  • February 28, 2024

    Court: Single-Source Asbestosis Case Avoids Texas Dose Requirement

    HOUSTON — Because the record shows that a woman’s asbestos exposures came from a single company’s facility and reliable expert testimony established that her asbestosis could have only been caused by asbestos exposure, the evidence satisfies the state’s substantial factor causation standard even without reference to the dose required for disease, a Texas appeals court said Feb. 27 in reversing summary judgment for the company.

  • February 27, 2024

    $50M Bond Discharged After Plea Deal Reached In $38M Nursing Home Fraud Case

    MIAMI — A Florida federal judge released a $50 million surety bond imposed on the former owner of skilled nursing facilities the day after the judge accepted the man’s guilty plea for conspiracy to commit health care fraud for the man’s role in a $38.7 million health care fraud scheme involving bribing physicians to have patients entered into the facilities he owned.

  • February 26, 2024

    Texas Appeals Court: Fatal Crash Suit Jury Should Have Heard Expert Testimony

    BEAUMONT, Texas — A Texas appeals court overturned a $10 million jury verdict in a wrongful death suit after finding that the trial court improperly excluded expert testimony that a woman who was killed in the crash had alcohol in her system, which might have influenced the jury’s assignment of fault.

  • February 22, 2024

    N.C. Appeals Court: Expert Evidence On DNA Linking Man To Gun Properly Admitted

    RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina appeals court upheld a man’s conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon after finding no reversible error in allowing an expert to testify on DNA and how it connected a man to a gun found in a traffic stop.

  • February 22, 2024

    Medical Condition Not Widely Recognized, Testimony Barred In Toxic Exposure Case

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge granted in large part three motions to exclude expert testimony in a case in which a woman claims medical injuries from toxic mold exposure, finding that one expert was unqualified to opine on a medical condition and that the testimony from the other witnesses was connected to that expert’s conclusions.

  • February 21, 2024

    Ohio Federal Judge Denies Dueling Motions To Exclude Experts In Patent Dispute

    TOLEDO, Ohio — An Ohio federal judge denied two motions to exclude opposing expert witnesses testifying on how a person of ordinary skill in the art would view the patent infringement dispute involving the design of metal doors.

  • February 20, 2024

    ASD-ADHD MDL Judge To Consider Causation Expert Retained By New Plaintiffs

    NEW YORK — The New York federal judge overseeing the acetaminophen autism spectrum disorder-attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ASD-ADHD) multidistrict litigation on Feb. 16 ordered the parties to file by Feb. 23 their proposed schedule for briefing on whether testimony by a newly named causation expert is admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 702.