Mealey's Daubert
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May 30, 2023
Expert Cannot Testify On Who Was Driving Personal Watercraft At Time Of Accident
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An expert retained by the estate of a woman who was killed in a personal watercraft accident cannot testify as to who was driving because his testimony is unreliable under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc., an Alabama federal judge ruled May 27.
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May 26, 2023
Michigan Panel Remands Medical Malpractice Suit For Testimony Exclusion Error
DETROIT — Michigan evidentiary law requires a trial court to filter out expert testimony that is unreliable, not to determine if the testimony is “unassailable,” a state appeals court held May 25, reversing an award of summary judgment in favor of a hospital and its employees in a medical malpractice suit.
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May 25, 2023
Judge Sets Hearing On Motion To Strike Asbestos Expert
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A federal judge in Montana set a June 9 hearing on a railway’s motion to strike an expert report stemming from a Libby, Mont., asbestos case. But in a response filed May 2, the plaintiff says that while seemingly boilerplate, the report is the result of expert Barry Castleman’s nearly four decades of experience with asbestos and the railroad industry.
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May 23, 2023
Expert Can Testify, Judge Says, Allowing Breach Of Contract Claim To Proceed
NEWARK, N.J. — While acknowledging that the expert report prepared for a woman suing her home insurer over a denied claim “does not provide the level of rigor and depth that one would expect in federal court,” a New Jersey federal judge found that the testimony passes muster under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and denied an insurer’s motion for summary judgment.
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May 22, 2023
Federal Judge OK’s Testimony On Safety Policies, Procedures In Slip-And-Fall Case
DENVER — A Colorado federal judge on May 19 denied a motion to preclude an expert retained by a grocery store owner to rebut an expert on safety procedure in a slip-and-fall case, rejecting a man’s claim that the expert’s testimony was irrelevant under Federal Rule of Evidence 702.
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May 18, 2023
Neuropsychologist Qualified As Expert In Criminal Case, Okla. Federal Judge Says
MUSKOGEE, Okla. — An Oklahoma federal judge has adopted the recommendation of a magistrate judge who found a neuropsychologist retained by a man charged with murder to be admissible as an expert, overruling the government’s objection to the report.
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May 17, 2023
Expert Testimony OK’d In Indiana Appeal But Court Finds $4M Verdict Excessive
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana appeals court found no error in the admission of expert testimony and photographs submitted in support of a woman’s slip-and-fall claims against a store but agreed that the $4 million jury award was excessive and granted a new trial to determine damages.
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May 17, 2023
Insurance Breach Of Contract Claims Survive After Judge Allows Causation Expert
MOBILE, Ala. — A federal judge in Alabama denied an insurer’s motion to exclude an expert retained by homeowners in a policy coverage dispute after finding that his testimony met the requirements of Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc.
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May 17, 2023
Magistrate: Safety Expert Out In Slip-And-Fall Case, Testimony Unhelpful To Jury
DENVER — Walmart successfully argued to a Colorado federal magistrate judge that an expert retained by a woman who alleges that she was injured after slipping on a floor inside of a store is inadmissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 702.
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May 16, 2023
2nd Circuit Finds No Error In Testimony Admission, Affirms Robbery Conviction
NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 15 denied a man’s appeal of his robbery conviction, finding no error by the trial court in allowing an expert to testify that cell phone tower data placed the man in the vicinity of multiple robberies.
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May 16, 2023
Testimony Based On Medical Records Is ‘Unreliable’ In Crash Suit, Judge Said
ROANOKE, Va. — A federal judge in Virginia agreed that testimony from a neurosurgeon retained by a trucking company sued in relation to a crash involving one of its employees should be limited and excluded testimony based on certain medical records.
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May 16, 2023
Judge: Ballistic Methodology Widely Accepted, Admissible In Racketeering Case
CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois denied a joint motion from four men facing racketeering charges to bar testimony from the government’s four experts in the field of ballistics but agreed to place some exclusions on the proposed testimony.
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May 11, 2023
Injured Man’s Experts Can Testify In Suit Against Cruise Company, Judge Says
MIAMI — A Florida federal judge denied two motions filed by Royal Caribbean to exclude experts retained by a man who alleges that he was injured while aboard a cruise ship because the objections to the testimony do not amount to an inadmissibility ruling.
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May 11, 2023
Judge Rules On 3 Motions To Exclude In Suit Against Dog Food Manufacturer
SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge limited the testimony of experts retained by a woman leading a proposed class action against a dog food manufacturer, excluding one expert, limiting another and finding that a third is admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc.
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May 11, 2023
Veterinarian Can Testify In Animal Abuse Case, Wash. Federal Judge Rules
SEATTLE — A nonprofit animal rights group lost its bid to exclude a veterinary care expert presented by a roadside zoo in an animal mistreatment case because the judge found that though his opinions may be challenged through cross-examination, they are admissible.
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May 04, 2023
Medical Coding Expert ‘Has No Place’ In Slip-And-Fall Case, Federal Judge Rules
MIAMI — A Florida federal judge granted a man’s motion to exclude a coding and billing expert retained by Wal-Mart in a slip-and-fall case, citing previous cases in the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that found the expert’s testimony to be unhelpful to a jury.
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May 02, 2023
Michigan Appeals Court Reverses Exclusion Of Expert, Summary Judgment Grant
DETROIT — A Michigan appeals court held that a “trial court appeared more concerned with conducting a miniature trial” than adequately determining the admissibility of a causation expert retained by a woman who sued a nursing home for medical malpractice and reversed a grant of summary judgment and remanded the case.
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May 02, 2023
Va. Federal Judge: Life-Care Expert Is Unqualified To Opine On Medical Needs
ROANOKE, Va. — Testimony from a life-care planner retained by a trucking company exceeds her area of expertise because she is rendering medical opinions, a Virginia federal judge ruled, granting a motion to exclude filed in a car-crash suit.
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April 28, 2023
Tennessee Appeals Court Affirms Exclusion Of Experts In FELA Asbestos Case
JACKSON, Tenn. — A Tennessee judge properly excluded two experts who, while qualified to testify, lacked any scientific or fact-based basis for their conclusions that exposure to asbestos and diesel fumes led to a woman’s renal cancer, the state’s appeals court affirmed.
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April 27, 2023
Judge Partly Grants Extension Request After Denying Summary Judgment In ERISA Case
NEW YORK — After denying a motion for summary judgment in a class action that centers on one allegedly imprudent investment option, a New York federal judge on April 26 partially granted the defendants’ unopposed request for an extension of deadlines.