Expert Witness Blog

Toxicology expert witnesses will be testifying in the consolidated case against Chinese drywall manufacturers in New Orleans although South Florida attorneys argued that Miami would be a better location because a majority of Chinese drywall problems and lawsuits have occurred there. The problems first cropped up in southwest Florida’s Gulf Coast cities. The drywall was imported following hurricanes Katrina and Wilma in 2005, after the housing boom and rebuilding efforts created a material shortage among domestic suppliers.

In addition to Florida, lawsuits have been filed in Louisiana, Virginia and Ohio among other states. The Florida Department of Health is tracking more than 440 complaints about the defective high-sulfur drywall.

Excerpted from TampaBayBizJournal.com.

In Managing the Risky Business of Company E-mail Part1 internet expert witness Scott Greene, CEO of Evidence Solutions, Inc., writes that his company has documented, during the examination of electronic systems, employees who frequently say/save things into e-mails or store on a computer, things they would never say anywhere else.

When educating your employees about the content of an e-mail or using other forms of traceable electronic technology, train the employee to ask themselves these simple questions:

Should I put this in e-mail or should I call?

Document examination expert witness Ronald N. Morris is a certified forensic document examiner and in this excerpt from Submitting a Handwriting Case for Examination, he writes some final thoughts.

Please take the time necessary to prepare your case for submission to the laboratory. Proper preparation is essential to ensure that the examiner has the documents necessary for a meaningful examination and comparison, and that the request is clearly worded and understood. If assistance is needed before or during the preparation process, please contact the FDE for assistance.

It is extremely important to remember that if the documents being submitted are for handwriting examination, a substantial percentage of the known writing should repeat the questioned material. If possible, the collected writings should have been written around the same time as the questioned writing, and the requested writing as close to the date of the questioned writing as possible.

In Security Experts: Litigation and Beyond, security expert witness Robert A. Gardner, CPP, writes:

Q. Is my security expert qualified?

A. The security profession is a collection of specialties. While there are basic concepts common to all, each specialty requires its own unique blend of training and experience. Unfortunately many so-called “security experts” claim almost universal expertise and often make claims that their documented training and experience can’t support. Look for the following in a qualified security expert:

In Fire Investigation Reports: The Key to Writing a Quality Report fire expert witness and Principal of Pyrocop, Inc., Robert Rowe “Who is your audience?”

When writing a fire investigation report, the fire investigator should determine who the target audience will be (i.e. attorneys, insurance companies, public entities, etc.) and write the report for that particular audience. Remember, the person reading the report may know nothing about fire investigation.

The fire investigator must also avoid terminology that only fire investigators understand. If you do use terminology known only to fire experts, then be sure to explain the terms. Below are a few examples;

In Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Hospitality Industry hospitality expert witness Maurice Robinson writes on ADR neutrality and experience.

Regardless of the provider, it is critical to the resolution of the disputes that the “neutrals”, those individuals empowered to resolve the disputes, possess both impartiality and industry experience. The clear advantage of using members of ISHC’s ADR Panel is to bring not only neutrality and independence to the process, but to ensure that industry experience and understanding is applied when reviewing facts, analysis and testimony,

and in arriving at findings and conclusions, solutions and awards. ISHC members are professionals who abide by strict professional standards of independence that have been well established and recognized by the hospitality industry for many years. It is thus their independence, industry knowledge and professional expertise that is brought to the ADR process and makes an ISHC solution to ADR so desirable.

In Managing the Risky Business of Company E-mail Part1 internet expert witness Scott Greene, CEO of Evidence Solutions, Inc., writes that his company has documented, during the examination of electronic systems, employees who frequently say/save things into e-mails or store on a computer, things they would never say anywhere else.

In many cases we have found that most policies do not adequately cover what is necessary in the computer and electronic communication age. Companies should have a very clear e-mail and technology use policy. One of the more important ones usually not covered, and unfortunately to the detriment of the employer, is an e-mail retention policy. Since many industries are governed by different and specific federal and/or state statutes on how long information must be retained, your policy should reflect these guidelines.

The policy should be as specific as possible in what types of communications are kept and how long. Make it clear there are both business and legal reasons for the company keeping such information. Information from e-mails as well as other electronic systems can be used in many types of cases, including: harassment, discrimination, antitrust, retaliation, Americans with Disabilities Act, insider trading, accounting fraud, improper trade secret disclosure and more!