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Mealey's Daubert

  • July 26, 2021

    Domino’s Ordered To Make Its Website Accessible For Blind Patrons

    LOS ANGELES — Domino’s Pizza LLC is required to bring its website into compliance with federal accessibility guidelines, a California federal judge ruled in a June 23 in chambers order, granting partial summary judgment to a blind man who sued the pizza chain for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA.)

  • July 21, 2021

    Judge Allows 1 Expert On Valuation Of Destroyed Equipment, Excludes Another

    LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Kentucky federal judge on July 13 granted one motion to exclude an expert retained to value the replacement cost of a piece of equipment destroyed during an accident at a construction site, finding that he didn’t base his conclusions on reliable methodology, but allowed another to testify after finding that his conclusions were reliable.

  • July 21, 2021

    Definite Cause Of Fire Not Needed, Federal Judge Says, Denying Motion To Exclude

    PHILADELPHIA — An expert opining on the origins of a house fire meets the standards set in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled July 8, denying a manufacturer’s motion to exclude in a subrogation action filed by the homeowners’ insurer.

  • July 21, 2021

    Company Partially Wins Bid To Exclude Maritime Liability Expert In Injury Case

    PADUCAH, Ky. — A Kentucky federal judge on July 16 agreed to limit testimony from a liability expert retained by a man who claims that he was injured while working on a river towing vessel after finding that some of his proposed testimony does not meet the standards set in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc.

  • July 19, 2021

    Delaware Judge: Spinal Surgeon Qualified To Opine On Hip Injury Causation

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A doctor who performed spinal surgery on a woman claiming injuries after a slip and fall inside a Walmart store is qualified to testify during the trial on the causation of her hip and spinal injuries, a Delaware state judge ruled July 16, denying the company’s motion to exclude.

  • July 19, 2021

    Man’s Medical Experts Admitted In Ladder Fall Case; Ruling Reserved For Other

    PHILADELPHIA — Medical experts opining on the likelihood that a man injured after falling off a ladder can return to work may testify in a lawsuit against the manufacturer, a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled July 15, but the judge reserved ruling on the admissibility of many of the conclusions the company’s engineering expert reached until closer to trial.

  • July 19, 2021

    Federal Judge Allows Testimony On Costs Associated With Wildfire Damage To Properties

    KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — An insurer involved in a disputed claim for property damage caused by a wildfire lost its bid to exclude two experts retained to testify on the scope of the damage and costs associated with the repairs after a Tennessee federal judge on July 15 found that the experts are qualified and based their conclusion on reliable information.

  • July 19, 2021

    Medical Experts On Need For Spinal Surgery OK’d To Testify In Accident Dispute

    ROANOKE, Va. — Dueling experts opining on the necessity of a spinal surgery for a woman injured in a motor-vehicle accident will both be allowed to testify, a Virginia federal judge ruled June 22, but the judge barred one expert from mentioning a previous suicide attempt, finding that the information would be unduly prejudicial.

  • July 16, 2021

    Indiana Appeals Court Denies Appeal To Bar Experts In Wrongful Death Suit

    INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana appeals court on July 14 found that a trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying a motion to exclude expert witnesses in a wrongful death suit but did agree to limit one expert in light of a previous partial summary judgment award.

  • July 15, 2021

    Class Action Law Expert Can Opine On Value Of Certification, Judge Says

    ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A woman proposing a class action lawsuit against a clothing company failed in her efforts to stop a law professor retained as an expert witness by the company from testifying after an Alaska federal judge on July 13 denied her motion to exclude,

  • July 15, 2021

    Federal Magistrate Curtails Proposed Testimony From Excessive Force Expert

    SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A use-of-force expert may testify on standard police policies and whether officers accused of using excessive force during an arrest deviated from those standards, but he may not opine on the reasonableness of the officers’ actions or their state of mind because that testimony would usurp the role of the jury, a federal magistrate judge in New York ruled July 1.

  • July 15, 2021

    Judge Grants Summary Judgment To Costco After Excluding Expert Witness

    LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Finding “serious shortcomings” in an expert’s report prepared for man who claims that Costco is at fault for a fall from a wheelchair outside of its store, a Kentucky federal judge on June 16 granted the wholesale club’s motion to exclude his testimony and awarded summary judgment.

  • July 15, 2021

    Pennsylvania Federal Judge Trims Testimony From Expert In Wrongful Termination Suit

    PHILADELPHIA — Calculations on lost front pay and tuition remission “rest on assumptions unsupported by the factual record and are therefore unreliable,” a Pennsylvania federal judge said July 7, partially granting a motion to exclude an economic damages expert who was retained by a fired employee in a wrongful termination suit.

  • July 14, 2021

    Judge Allows Expert On Future Medical Care In Car Accident Injury Case

    MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Tennessee federal judge on July 12 denied a motion to exclude a life-care planning expert from testifying on what future medical expenses a man involved in a rear-end collision may require and ruled that the expert was qualified and reliable under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc..

  • July 12, 2021

    Federal Magistrate Judge Allows 1 Expert, Limits Another In Casino Slip-And-Fall

    HAMMOND, Ind. — A podiatrist testifying for a casino owner in a slip-and-fall case may not opine on whether an injury not clearly stated in a woman’s medical record led to her leg amputation, a federal magistrate judge in Indiana said July 7; however, he ruled that objections to the woman’s expert boil down to “general disputes as to the methodologies” and are not grounds for exclusion.

  • July 08, 2021

    Expert Survives Disclosure Rule Challenges, But Magistrate Limits Testimony

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California magistrate federal judge on June 21 limited testimony from an expert retained by a school district to rebut a parents’ expert who opines that their child suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder as a result of being abused by one of his teachers, finding that challenges to exclude based on failure to comply with disclosure rules are unsuccessful but that the expert cannot base her testimony on consultations with other experts.

  • June 16, 2021

    High Court Asked To Weigh In On Health Care Fraud Conviction

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Supreme Court review of a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling affirming the conviction of a doctor for his alleged involvement in a health care fraud scheme is necessary to address whether Medicare “rules, regulations and policies” are “controlling” in a criminal prosecution, a doctor argues in a petition for writ of certiorari filed June 3 in the Supreme Court.

  • June 16, 2021

    Kansas Federal Judge Rules On 4 Motions To Exclude In Car Accident Dispute

    WITCHITA, Kan. — A Kansas federal judge on June 3 ruled on four motions to exclude under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc., excluding testimony from a commercial vehicle expert, denying without prejudice a motion on video reenactment of the accident, limiting what a life-care expert can opine on and dismissing efforts to exclude a vocational expert.

  • June 16, 2021

    Experts On Contract Breach, Damages Allowed In Retirement Agreement Dispute

    WITCHITA, Kan. — A Kansas federal judge on June 4 denied dueling motions to exclude four expert witnesses in a breach of contract case involving a retirement agreement, finding that the experts will testify to matters in dispute and that their testimony is relevant and reliable and will assist the trier of fact.

  • June 16, 2021

    Judge Excludes Adjuster In Insurance Coverage Spat, Grants Summary Judgment

    ORLANDO, Fla. — An adjuster who opined that damage to a roof was caused by a storm does not meet the standards for an expert witness under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc., a federal judge in Florida ruled June 14 and granted summary judgment to the insurer after finding that a couple could not prove their claim.