Expert Witness Profiler [EWP] on LinkedIn: Court refuses to exclude expert testimony on the application of local… (2024)

#PreventiveMedicineExpertWitness#expertwitnessA district judge in Kentucky found the testimony of preventive medicine expert reliable while ruling on the Plaintiffs’ state law tort claims.Plaintiffs Mark and Deborah Brackett (the “Bracketts”) and Doug Coomer (“Coomer”) (collectively “Plaintiffs”) own properties in Clementsville, Kentucky. Defendant Columbia Gulf Transmission, LLC own a natural gas compressor station (the “Compressor Station”) adjacent to Plaintiffs’ properties.Plaintiffs alleged that since early September 2019, the Compressor Station has been emitting intolerable noise like “jet engines taking off” and exhaust odors that make breathing painful and cause headaches, and because of those conditions they have been distressed and unable to enjoy their properties.Plaintiffs’ state law tort claims are also based on the odors and pollutants allegedly emanating from the Compressor Station. They have disclosed Dr. Erin Haynes (“Dr. Haynes”) as an expert who has analyzed air quality data collected by a monitor inside the Bracketts’ home from April 2022 to October 2022. Defendants sought to exclude Haynes’ testimony based on lack of compliance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(B), relevance, and reliability.https://lnkd.in/gy_WGtzy

#CivilRightsExpertWitness#expertwitnessPlaintiff, Erika Pogorzelska filed this action in August 2019. She alleged in her remaining claims that VanderCook, a school she attended, violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) and the Illinois Civil Rights Remedies Restoration Act by its deliberate indifference to her allegations that she was sexually assaulted and battered by a classmate, former Defendant Eric Ballenger, and subsequently harassed.Defendant retained Saundra Schuster to testify as an expert on industry standards for Title IX compliance, investigations, and responses.Plaintiff sought an order barring Schuster from offering the following five opinions that are contained in her Amended Confidential Expert Report: (a) Schuster “cannot see any basis in the record to conclude that [Defendant’s] actions were clearly unreasonable or exposed [Plaintiff] to an ongoing hostile environment on the basis of sex.” (b) “Rather than being discriminated against, it appears from the record that [Plaintiff] was exceptionally well-accommodated and cared for by [Defendant] in ways that met or exceeded industry standards for supportive measures.” (c) Defendant “responded promptly and equitably to allegations of sexual assault made by” Plaintiff. (d) Defendant “responded promptly and diligently to [Plaintiff’s] complaints of violations of the No Contact Directive.” (e) Defendant’s “decision on the evidence was reasonable.”Plaintiff maintained that Schuster's opinions about Defendant’s conduct should be barred because they consisted of legal conclusions equivalent to testimony that Defendant acted in compliance with Title IX and they impermissibly tell the jury how to decide the issues.https://lnkd.in/g8iKa53d

#PlantGeneticsExpertWitness#expertwitnessA district judge in Arizona decided against excluding the testimony of a plant geneticist considering his specialized technical expertise in wheat genetics and breeding. Plaintiff, Calyxt Inc. is an agricultural company specializing in gene-editing technology for crops like wheat and soybeans. In October 2019, Calyxt planted a genetically engineered high fiber wheat ("HFW") product in two different fields in Yuma, Arizona ("Field One" and "Field Two," respectively). Calyxt claims that in 2019, pesticides sprayed aerially on nearby fields drifted onto Calyxt's two respective fields and destroyed parts of the HFW crops in each field. Plaintiff alleged two incidents of pesticide drift (collectively, "the Yuma Incident"), one incident affecting Field One and the other affecting Field Two. Field One and Field Two are miles apart. The aerial application near Field One occurred six days prior to the aerial application near Field Two. Moreover, the incidents involve two separate sets of Defendants. The Field One incident involved Amigo Farms, Inc. ("Amigo"), Morris AG Air Southwest ("Morris"), and Jeffrey Nigh, all of whom are no longer parties to this suit. The remaining Defendants—D'Arrigo, Tri-Rotor, Consaul, and Luke—are all allegedly involved with the pesticide drift onto Field Two.https://lnkd.in/gKzxqpXk

#DaubertChallenge #Expertwitness #Rule702 #ExpertTestimony

1

#RetirementPlanExpertWitness#expertwitnessA district judge in Pennsylvania refused to admit the Retirement Plan Expert's opinions on excessive recordkeeping fees being charged.Plaintiff, John McCauley accused PNC Financial Services Group and a Committee appointed to oversee the administration of PNC’s 401(k) Plan of breaching their fiduciary duties under ERISA by allowing the Plan to pay “excessive” fees to the Plan’s recordkeeper, Alight.McCauley sought to introduce Ty Minnich as an expert witness who would provide opinions on the following topics: (1) whether Alight charged excessive recordkeeping and administrative fees; (2) what the reasonable market rate for the Plan's services would be; and (3) the amount of Plaintiffs' damages. PNC sought to exclude Minnich's expert testimony, arguing that it was not reliable because his opinion was based solely on his experience "without [using] any reproduceable or traceable process."https://lnkd.in/gHTy4-5g

#IndustrialHygieneExpertWitness#expertwitnessA district judge in California admitted the testimony of an industrial hygienist despite the legitimacy of her method being attacked.Plaintiffs, former employees of Defendant, Bay Area Rapid Transit District (“BART”) brought First Amendment, Title VII, and FEHA claims against BART after losing their jobs due to their refusal to comply with BART's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. BART disclosed, inter alia, the expert report of Nancy McClellan, an industrial hygienist. The McClellan report concluded, based on the above, that "BART worksites were moderate to high in their COVID-19 transmission risk, warranting a vaccine mandate [and the expectation of] 100% compliance," and that "BART's interpretation of the feasibility of the less effective administrative and PPE controls as secondary to vaccination was correct according to the classic hierarchy of controls."Plaintiffs filed a Daubert motion seeking to exclude, or in the alternative limit, the testimony of McClellanhttps://lnkd.in/g3732HSB

#AppliancesExpertWitness#MaterialsScienceExpertWitness#expertwitnessRoger and Reuki Schutt (the "Schutts") are the owners of a house located at Canton, Massachusetts. On April 24, 2019, the house sustained water damage resulting in the payment of insurance benefits by Safety to the Schutts. The water damage was determined to have originated from a leak in a water filter system manufactured and sold by EcoWater under the tradename Northstar.On October 23, 2019, the filter system was examined at a joint inspection by experts for both EcoWater and Safety. The sump was observed to have a "throughwall crack extending the entire length of the housing," as well as "additional cracks." EcoWater did not use annealing in the production process for its clear sumps. Post-mold annealing is the process of cooling a mold-injected polymer after manufacture.On April 4, 2022, Plaintiff Safety Insurance Company ("Safety") filed suit in Massachusetts Superior Court against Defendant EcoWater Systems, LLC ("EcoWater"), asserting its right of subrogation arising from water damage to the property of Roger and Reuki Schutt. Safety disclosed two experts in support of its case: (1) "appliance failure inspector" expert Thomas Zarek and (2) materials science expert Timothy Kenney. Zarek opined that the product failed prematurely at the loss location and caused the water damage while Kenney concluded that it was common practice to post-mold anneal these thick wall parts to reduce these residual stresses and improve the performance of the part.EcoWater filed motions in limine to exclude the opinions and testimony of Thomas Zarek and Timothy Kenney under Rule 702.https://lnkd.in/g8th63Yg

1

#FamilyMedicineExpertWitness#OrthopedicSurgeryExpertWitnessThis lawsuit arises from a minor automobile accident that occurred at approximately 1:30 p.m. on October 9, 2020, in Española, New Mexico. Plaintiff Charles Hartung (“Plaintiff”) was a passenger in a four-door GMC pickup operated by his friend Ralph Andrew, Sr. Plaintiff.Gommert, a salesman employed by McLane, entered the road from an adjacent gas station and did not see the pickup as it approached. The front end of Gommert’s company car collided with the rear wheel on the passenger side of the pickup.Plaintiff disclosed Brian M. Shelley, M.D., and Mark K. Crawford, M.D. (collectively, the “Retained Experts”), as unified, retained experts. They testified that “the treatment [Plaintiff] received was reasonable, necessary, and appropriate; and that [Plaintiff’s] current conditions related to the motor vehicle collision are closed head injury and cognitive difficulties (by report), right shoulder pain and motion deficits, low back pain with right lower extremity radiation (aggravated), SI joint injury, headaches, anxiety (aggravated) and depression (aggravated).”In response, Defendants argued that the Court should exclude testimony from these experts under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 113 S. Ct. 2786, 125 L. Ed. 2d 469 (1993), because some facts supporting their opinions are undermined by medical records which the experts did not review before rendering their opinionshttps://lnkd.in/gAsFwkWx

1 Comment

#PsychologyExpertWitness#expertwitnessA district judge in Virginia refused to admit the testimony of a psychology expert even though he provided the Court with multiple experimental means to test the validity of the communications in question.Plaintiff, Kevin Plantan filed a lawsuit arising from his belief that he was wrongfully accused of sexually molesting his minor daughter S.P., an autistic child, and that the allegations made by the child were not really S.P’s words, but rather, that they came about via a method of communication that is not reliable.Plaintiff claimed Wendy Atkinson, an occupational therapist, was hired by defendant Kelly Smith, his ex-wife and mother of S.P., to “begin using a form of facilitated communication with S.P.” He asserts that during the course of S.P.’s interactions with, inter alia, Defendant Wendy Atkinson, S.P. disclosed that the Plaintiff had sexually abused her when she was six and nine years old.Plaintiff designated Dr. James Todd (“Dr. Todd”) who opined that Ms. Atkinson "has recklessly disregarded the clear and overwhelming conclusions of the scientific community that facilitated communication is ineffective and dangerous."The Defendants filed a motion to exclude Todd's opinions, arguing that "they are inadmissible for numerous reasons," including that "the opinions offered are not only an improper attack on the credibility of Atkinson" but also"venture into territory that is off limits to experts."https://lnkd.in/gUAgE2yr