Allegan County, MI, sheriff's Sgt. Chris Kuhn is an accident reconstruction expert. With traffic accidents increasing due to distracted drivers, Kuhn said a June 28, 2010, crash in Allegan County could have been fatal. The expert said the only reason no one died was because it was a head on collision and that cars are built to sustain those type of accidents rather well.
Forensic accounting expert witness Bob Grosnoff says he is "an expert witness in financial fraud cases and I'm usually on the side of claimants. I like to get the bad guys off the street." When Wealth Strategies Advisory Group invited the expert to investigate their company, Grosnoff uncovered seven tax liens against Vince Annable who runs the company.
Attorney Robert M. Hall is a former insurance and reinsurance executive and acts as an insurance consultant as well as an arbitrator and mediator of insurance and reinsurance disputes. In HOW REINSURANCE ARBITRATIONS CAN BE FASTER, CHEAPER AND BETTER (REVISTED), he writes:
This is an update of an article which first appeared in 2004 and was intended as an action plan for remedying some of the more significant problems with the reinsurance arbitration process. Unfortunately, this action plan has not progressed very far since then.
Read more: http://www.robertmhall.com/publications.htm.
As a consultant to the World Bank, patents expert witness Bruce Abramson, JD, PhD, advised the Government of India about the steps necessary to complete the reform of their patent system. He contributed to overall study of India’s knowledge economy, the state of its innovation system, and the further reforms needed for the country to transition into the information age.
Read more: http://www.jurispro.com/BruceAbramsonJDPhD.
Criminology expert witness Kim Rossmo heads Texas State University’s Center for Geospatial Intelligence and Investigation and is a former member of the Vancouver Police Department. Rossmo recently told the Vancouver Missing Women Inquiry that serial killer Robert Pickton could have been caught earlier if Vancouver police had not "dropped the ball." Pickton was charged in the murder of twenty-five women.
In addition to assisting in criminal cases and training law enforcement on how to use his methodology in serial property crime investigations, Rossmo is exploring its versatility by applying it to projects ranging from border control to counterterrorism.
On his website, accident investigation expert witness Christopher Gayner, Expert Reconstruction Company, shares this information:
A federal agency called for a ban on all cellphone use by drivers — the most far-reaching such recommendation to date — saying its decision was based on a decade of investigations into distraction-related accidents, as well as growing concerns that powerful mobile devices are giving drivers even more reasons to look away from the road.As part of its recommendation, the National Transportation Safety Board is urging states to ban drivers from using hands-free devices, including wireless headsets. No state now outlaws such activity, but the board said that drivers faced serious risks from talking on wireless headsets, just as they do by taking a hand off the wheel to hold a phone to their ear.
Real estate expert Bill Argeropoulos says there may be a bidding war over Scotiabank's landmark red skyscraper in Toronto. Canada's second tallest building could sell for $1 billion or more. Argeropoulos is Vice President and Director of Research for Avison Young’s Canadian operations.
In What Government Should be Doing in the Markets, patents expert witness Bruce Abramson writes:
It’s hardly a secret that the 2012 election is shaping up as a contest between free markets and big government. And while the choice seems clear in the current political environment, it’s important to recall that government does play a critical role in the development and maintenance of functioning markets.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner has denied R. Allen Stanford's lawyers request to delay the fraud case against the financier. Defense lawyers requested more time to evaluate testimony from forensic accounting expert witnesses on auditing and accounting procedures.
In The need to understand and work with the law continues to grow in hospitality – Today and in the Future, John Hogan writes:
In my continuing professional work as an educator, an expert witness for both plaintiffs and defendants, as a consultant, author and speaker, I clearly see that the need to understand and work with the law continues to grow. As owners and operators in hotels, restaurants, spas, clubs and other hospitality businesses, we must recognize what a litigious society we are and how to protect all parties to the best of our knowledge.
Read more: hospitalitynet.org.
A computer expert witness opined on the computer irregularities in the city of Sarasota, FL's IT system. The consultant said some files are missing, data that should have been private was not, and emails were erased. City Manager Robert Bartolotta has denied any wrongdoing.
In United States: Section 1782 Discovery Ordered Against Chevron’s Environmental Expert For Use In UNCITRAL Arbitration Relating To Ecuador, Louis M. Solomon, Chairman of the Commercial and International Litigation Groups and Co-Chairman of the Litigation Department at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, writes:
A decision from a Magistrate Judge in Colorado includes some useful learning on international practice under 28 U.S.C. Section 1782.
Read more: mondaq.com.
Expert witnesses for R. Allen Stanford have resigned because they haven’t been paid. Stanford, former head of the Stanford Financial Group, is facing charges for allegedly taking $7 billion from investors. Stanford's attorney asked the U.S. District judge to postpone his trial.
Douglas Lovell's attorneys requested that hearings relating to expert witnesses be held behind closed doors without prosecutors. Lovell is on death row for the death of Joyce Yost in 1985. His defense attorney argued in Utah 2nd Judicial District that including prosecutors would give the state insight into the defense strategy.
Read more: scholar.google.com.
Compensation expert witness Dr. Sanjai Bhagat presented his paper Bank Executive Compensation And Capital Requirements Reform this month to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington DC.
Abstract, Part 2
We recommend the following compensation structure for senior bank executives: Executive incentive compensation should only consist of restricted stock and restricted stock options – restricted in the sense that the executive cannot sell the shares or exercise the options for two to four years after their last day in office.The above equity based incentive programs lose their effectiveness in motivating managers to enhance shareholder value as a bank’s equity value approaches zero (as they did for the too-big-to-fail banks in 2008). Hence, for equity based incentive structures to be effective, banks should be financed with considerable more equity than they are being financed currently.
Read more: http://leeds-faculty.colorado.edu/.
At Daily Herald.com , Barry Stone writes:
Q. I am a court-certified expert witness in construction defect lawsuits. Many of the cases I see involve home inspectors who fail to disclose defects. One inspector confided that an inspection report with “too many problems” might “kill” the sale, and then the agent would stop recommending him to buyers.
Compensation expert witness Dr. Sanjai Bhagat presented his paper Bank Executive Compensation And Capital Requirements Reform this month to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington DC.
Abstract Part 2:
We study the executive compensation structure in the largest 14 U.S. financial institutions during 2000-2008. We focus on the CEO‘s buys and sells of their bank‘s stock, purchase of stock via option exercise, and their salary and bonus during 2000-2008. We consider the capital losses these CEOs incur due to the dramatic share price declines in 2008. We consider the shareholder returns for these 14 banks. Finally, we consider three measures of risk-taking by these banks: (a) the bank‘s Z-score, (b) the bank‘s asset write-downs, and (c) whether or not a bank borrows capital from various Fed bailout programs, and the amount of such capital.
Read more: http://leeds-faculty.colorado.edu/.
Google Inc has announced it will hook up Kansas City, Kan., and then Kansas City, Mo., local computers to enhanced internet service. Media expert witness Larry Gerbrandt, an analyst for Media Valuation Partners and a former cable operator, says, “One market doesn’t change things. Even Google doesn’t have enough money to wire the country.” Media Valuation Partners MVP specializes in understanding how value is created and monetized in the media, entertainment, mobile and emerging technology sectors.
In the mid-1960s President Johnson envisioned the Urban Institute, chartered in 1968 to provide "independent nonpartisan analysis of the problems facing America's cities and their residents." This month, insurance coverage experts at the Urban Institute write on Changes in Health Insurance Coverage in the Great Recession, 2007-2010, published by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured:
The number of uninsured nonelderly Americans reached over 49 million in 2010, an increase of nearly a million people since 2009. This increase continues a trend of rising uninsurance over the past decade. Among the nonelderly, rates of employer-sponsored coverage have declined from 2000 to 2010. While public coverage through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) has filled in some of the gap in coverage, rising throughout the decade, it has not offset all of the loss in private coverage. As a result, both the number and share of the population without health coverage have grown since 2000.
Read more: kaisercommission.
Risk management expert Mike Prusinski, senior vice president of LifeLock, comments on the DOJ study warning the public to be more careful of Social Security numbers and debit cards being stolen: benningtonbanner.com.
