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A summary of recent Daubert opinions.

  1. Ponce v. Mountaineers – Court of Appeals of Washington – Division One – November 2, 2015 – This case involves a sledding accident.  The plaintiffs appeal a lower court opinion which allowed the defendant’s sports and recreation expert witness, Chris Stoddard.  They claim that he lacked sufficient foundation.  The appeals court confirmed the lower court opinion.
  2. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation v. Attorneys Title Insurance Fund, Inc. – United States District Court – Middle District of Florida – November 4th, 2015 – In this title insurance fund related to residential loan transactions, the defendant filed a motion to exclude the testimony of J. Richard Harris, a mortgages expert witness.   The defense stated that the Mr. Harris does not employ a reliable methodology and that his testimony would not help the trier of fact.  The court denied the motion.
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  1. Sargent v. Commonwealth – United States District Court – Middle District of Pennsylvania – October 26th, 2015 – This case involves an alleged use of excessive force by an arresting policeman.  The plaintiff hired R. Paul McCauley, a deadly/excessive force expert witnesses.  The defendant challenged Dr. McCauley should not be allowed to testify on the following: 1) whether the force used was excessive or unreasonable and 2) whether defendant could have done under the circumstances.  The judge granted the motion in part and denied it in part, stating that Dr. McCauley’s testimony is limited to the extent that it references the reasonableness or excessiveness of the force used.
  2. The People v. Jason James Zamora – Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District – State of California – October 29th, 2015 – In this case involving a fight at a bar, the defendant hired Dr. Thomas Streed as a deadly/excessive force expert witness.  The lower court excluded this testimony (stating that the expert was not qualified) and the defendant appealed.  The court affirmed the opinion of the lower court.
  3. In re: The Marriage of Rebecca Lynn Sternat – Wisconsin Court of Appeals – October 28, 2015 – In this divorce case, the lower allowed the plaintiff’s expert witness testimony of Kris Disbrow, a business valuation expert witnesses.  The defendant appealed, stating that he is not qualified and his testimony is unreliable.  The court affirmed the opinion of the lower court.
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  1. Terrebonne Parish NAACP et al v. Jindal et al – United States District Court – Middle District of Louisiana – October 18th, 2015 – This case involves at-large voting in a judicial district in Louisiana, possibly violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  The defendants hired three experts to assist in proving their case and the plaintiffs filed motions to exclude them.  The experts are Bruce L. Adelson (government expert witness), Michael Beychik (political consultant expert witness), and Ronald E. Weber (redistricting and voting rights expert witness).  The court granted the motion to exclude Mr. Adelson and deferred an opinion on the motions to exclude the latter two experts.
  2. Stachon v. Woodward et al – United States District Court – Northern District of Indiana – October 23rd, 2015 – In this motor vehicle action, the defendant hired Michael Sutton as an accident reconstruction expert witness.  The plaintiff challenged his testimony stating that his testimony was outside of his expertise, unreliable, and would not assist the trier of fact.  The motion to exclude the testimony was denied.
  3. Trustees of Boston University v. Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd. et al – United States District Court – District of Massachusetts – October 23rd, 2015 –  In this patent infringement case, the court issued three separate opinions (here, here, and here) related to motions to exclude expert witness testimony.  The first and second involve, Alan Ratliff, a business evaluation expert witness.  The third opinion involves Russell W. Mangum III, an economics expert witness.  The court granted in part and denied in part the testimonies of both Mr. Ratliff, and Dr.. Mangum.
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  1. Dillon v. Auto-Owners Insurance Company – United States District Court – District of Colorado – October 21st, 2015 – In this case involving an automobile accident, the plaintiff filed suit against defendant’s insurance company.  The defendant seeks to exclude the testimony of Neuropsychology expert witness Janet Lemon, Phd on causation grounds.  The judge denied the motion to exclude.
  2. Lion Oil Company v. National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA et al – United States District Court – District Court of Arkansas – October 20th, 2015 – The defendants in this case seek to exclude the testimony of: Kevin O’Toole (forensic accounting expert witness), William Byrd (pipelines expert witness), and  Dr. Ashok Saxena (mechanical engineering expert witness).  The court denied the motion to exclude the testimony of Kevin O’Toole, denied Mr. Byrd from using the undisclosed parts of this testimony, and denied as moot the testimony of Dr, Saxena.
  3. Cave et al v. Saxon Mortgage Services Inc, et al – United States District Court – District of Pennsylvania – October 20th, 2015 – This is a contract case related to mortgages and consumer lending.  The plaintiffs seek to exclude the expert witness testimony of Marsha J. Courchane, Ph.D, a mortgages expert witness stating that she improperly offered a legal opinion.  The court granted the motion in part and denied the motion in part.
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