Mealey's Daubert
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November 26, 2024
Magistrate Judge: Damages Expert Can Testify In Breach Of Contract Case
NORFOLK, Va. — A federal magistrate judge in Virginia denied a motion to exclude testimony from a damages expert retained by a spinal implant device company that sued a group of sales representatives for breach of contract after finding the proposed testimony to be relevant and reliable under Federal Rule of Evidence 702.
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November 26, 2024
Judge Limits Experts Who Can Testify On Man’s Future Medical Needs After Crash
NEW YORK — A New York federal judge presiding over a personal injury case stemming from a car accident ruled on three motions to exclude experts retained to opine on a man’s needs for future surgeries and medical care, finding that two experts meet admissibility standards but one is excluded.
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November 25, 2024
Child Abuse Conviction Affirmed By Mich. Court; No Error In Expert’s Testimony
DETROIT — A Michigan trial court did not err in allowing expert testimony on forensic strangulation in a criminal case against a man accused of abusing his children because the expert was qualified to testify under the state’s admissibility standards and his testimony helped the jury, a Michigan appeals court ruled Nov. 22.
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November 25, 2024
Motion To Set Trial Date Denied Without Prejudice In Long-Running RESPA Suit
FRESNO, Calif. — In a brief Nov. 22 text-only order, a judge sitting by designation in California federal court denied without prejudice a motion to set a trial date in a long-running Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) class action involving captive reinsurance agreements.
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November 25, 2024
Expert In Louisiana Criminal Trial Cannot Opine On Defendant’s ‘Reasonable Fear’
GRETNA, La. — A Louisiana appeals court in a split Nov. 22 decision overturned a trial court’s decision to allow an expert retained by a man facing manslaughter charges to opine on whether a victim’s actions created fear of bodily harm for a reasonable person, granting in part the state’s supervisory writ application.
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November 25, 2024
Judge Refuses To Exclude Norfolk Southern’s Expert In Ohio Train Derailment Case
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — A federal judge in Ohio has denied a motion by third-party defendant OxyVinyls LP, which sought to exclude the report of an expert for the railway company Norfolk Southern in the litigation over toxic chemical exposure from the derailment of its train in East Palestine, Ohio, ruling that the exclusion of those reports would “unfairly eliminate a critical component of Norfolk Southern’s defense.”
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November 20, 2024
Expert Testimony Trimmed, Class Certification Granted In Defective Windshield Case
LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge limited expert testimony in a proposed class action suit alleging that Kia Motors America Inc. knew that its windshields were defective but failed to disclose it to consumers.
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November 19, 2024
Judge: 1 Expert Admitted, 1 Excluded In Medical Malpractice Suit
HONOLULU — A Hawaii federal judge ruled that because a medical malpractice case is not being heard by a jury, an expert retained by the government can testify as the judge will be able determine the reliability of the expert’s testimony at trial; the judge also ruled that exclusion of a couple’s expert is the proper sanction for disclosing the expert after a deadline.
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November 19, 2024
Experts, Constitutionality Of Tooey Come Before Pa. Supreme Court
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Parties to a $3 million asbestos verdict affirmed on appeal briefed the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on whether a toxicologist was properly precluded from offering an opinion on specific causation and whether precedent allowing an employee to sue an employer when a workers’ compensation claim was statutorily impossible violated the state constitution.
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November 18, 2024
Expert For Veteran Convicted Of Lying For Disability Benefits Properly Excluded
CINCINNATI — There was no error in a ruling that excluded an expert retained by a veteran convicted of lying about the extent of disabilities to obtain more benefits, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said in affirming the conviction, but the court remanded the case to the district court to recalculate the amount of restitution owed.
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November 14, 2024
Conn. Federal Judge Says Boat Dealer Cannot Opine On Value Of Damaged Speed Boat
HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut federal judge found that testimony from a boat dealer who was retained to opine on the valuation of a speed boat that was damaged during transport is inadmissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc.
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November 14, 2024
Judge: Expert Not Qualified To Opine On What Caused Ladder To Collapse
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A mechanical engineer who spent most of his career in the automotive industry is unqualified to testify as to why an extension ladder collapsed and caused injuries, a West Virigina federal judge ruled Nov. 13 while affirming a previous order that the company’s expert may testify.
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November 12, 2024
Ohio Train Derailment Defendants Say Their Expert Is Qualified To Testify
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Defendants in the litigation over the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that released toxic chemicals into the air and soil have filed a brief in Ohio federal court arguing that Norfolk Southern Corp.’s arguments to exclude a defense expert do not have merit.
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November 11, 2024
ASD-ADHD MDL Defendants Say Lower Court Properly Excluded Expert Testimony
NEW YORK — Arguments made by plaintiffs in the acetaminophen autism spectrum disorder-attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ASD-ADHD) multidistrict litigation appealing a decision to exclude their expert witnesses “would transform the trial court’s role” in determining admissibility under Federal Rule of Evidence 702, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (JJCI) and retailers of acetaminophen argue in a brief before the Second Circuit Court U.S. Court of Appeals.
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November 08, 2024
Pa. Federal Magistrate: Rebuttal Witness On Life-Care Needs Can Testify
PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal magistrate judge denied a motion filed by a family injured in an accident to exclude the testimony of an expert hired to rebut the report of the family’s life-care planning experts.
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November 06, 2024
Colorado High Court: Lack Of Formal Acceptance Does Not Bar Expert Testimony
DENVER — The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that an expert witness is not required under the state’s rules of evidence or case law to be formally offered and accepted as an expert for the testimony to be admissible, reversing a court of appeals ruling that overturned a murder conviction.
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November 05, 2024
2nd Circuit Affirms Finding That Ed Sheeran Didn’t Infringe Marvin Gaye Song
NEW YORK — A 2014 hit single from English pop star Ed Sheeran did not infringe on the copyright related to a 1973 song from Marvin Gaye, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held, affirming a New York federal judge’s finding of noninfringement.
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November 05, 2024
Mo. Federal Judge Finds Expert Testimony Not Relevant In Wrongful Death Case
ST. LOUIS — Because a Missouri federal judge had previously granted a retail store summary judgment on a negligence claim against it in a wrongful death suit stemming from the drowning of a child in an aboveground pool, he ruled that the testimony from two experts is no longer relevant.
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November 04, 2024
Federal Judge: Case Alleging Injury From Falling Sign In Target Moves Forward
NEW ORLEANS — An expert retained by a woman who alleges that she was injured by a falling sign in a Target store is qualified to testify and his opinions are relevant, a federal judge in Louisiana ruled, also rejecting Target’s motion for summary judgment after finding that whether the company is liable is in dispute.
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November 04, 2024
Judge Asks Parties To Consider Alternative Resolution To Stay Of Crypto Case
SAN FRANCISCO — Days after ruling on four motions to exclude expert testimony in a securities case involving crypto tokens, a federal judge in California responded to a joint motion for entry of final judgment and asked the parties to consider an alternative resolution.
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November 01, 2024
Split Panel: Silicosis Case Fails Due To Plaintiff’s Unreliable Experts
HOUSTON — A split Texas appeals court panel on Oct. 31 affirmed a lower court’s ruling in favor of Exxon Mobil Corp. in a silica injury lawsuit brought by a worker who sandblasted railcars and contended that he developed pulmonary fibrosis because the company created a situation in which he had to perform an “intrinsically unsafe and ultrahazardous activity.” The panel held that the worker’s experts were not reliable.
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October 30, 2024
Judge Bars Economics Expert In Avandia Third-Party Payer’s Bid For Class Action
PHILADELPHIA — The Pennsylvania federal judge overseeing the Avandia multidistrict litigation agreed with GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) that an economic expert retained by third-party payers who bought the diabetes pill and are seeking class certification cannot testify under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc.
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October 29, 2024
Norfolk Southern: Opposition To Supplementing Third-Party Train Case Is ‘Meritless’
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Norfolk Southern Corp. on Oct. 28 filed a reply brief in Ohio federal court arguing that one of the third-party defendants in the litigation over the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that released toxic chemicals into the air and soil has opposed the railway company’s bid to supplement its third-party lawsuit in what amounts to “a meritless effort to introduce delay and complication into what should be a simple process.”
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October 24, 2024
Challenge To Summary Judgment, Exclusion Ruling In ERISA Fees Row Is Dropped
PHILADELPHIA — An appeal of a summary judgment and expert exclusion ruling in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action over allegedly excessive record-keeping fees has been dismissed with prejudice under a stipulation filed in the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
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October 22, 2024
Experts Featured In Mealey's Daubert Report
Entries are ordered in alphabetical order of the expert in each area of expert testimony. Experts appeared in the May, June, July, August, September and October 2024 issues of Mealey’s Daubert Report.