Mealey's Daubert
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April 22, 2024
Judge Denies Motions To Exclude Insurance Industry Experts In Negligence Case
PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge rejected dueling motions to exclude experts in an insurance negligence case, finding that the proper avenue to address the arguments is through cross-examination and not exclusion.
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April 22, 2024
DuPont Affiliate Seeks Seal Of ‘Private And Confidential’ Material In PFAS Case
WILMINGTON, N.C. — The Chemours Co. on April 19 filed a brief in North Carolina federal court arguing that it should seal non-public information, including information about business operations and strategies that “might reasonably be expected to be kept private and confidential” in the long-running lawsuit brought by residents against E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. and its affiliates related to claims that they dumped per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the Cape Fear River, resulting in groundwater contamination.
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April 22, 2024
Expert Can Offer Medical Causation Testimony, New York Federal Judge Says
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A biomechanical engineer can opine on medical causation in a crash suit because he has adequate medical training, a New York federal magistrate judge ruled, rejecting a motion to exclude filed by a man who claims that he was injured in the crash.
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April 19, 2024
Arizona Federal Judge: Expert Out In Design Defect Case Against Gun Manufacturer
PHOENIX — Testimony by an expert retained by a man who alleges that his handgun accidentally discharged due to a design defect is inadmissible, an Arizona federal judge ruled, finding that his conclusions are unreliable under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc.
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April 18, 2024
‘Top Gun’ Movie Sequel Did Not Infringe Copyrights; Experts On Similarities Barred
LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge granted Paramount Pictures’ motion for summary judgment after finding that the “Top Gun: Maverick” film did not infringe on any copyrights held by the author of a 1983 magazine article on the experiences of F-14 pilots and radio intercept officers training at the Navy’s Fighter Weapons School, known as Top Gun, and that certain expert witnesses are inadmissible.
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April 18, 2024
Pa. Federal Judge Limits Testimony From Expert In Broken Window Injury Case
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — An expert retained by a man who was injured while installing a window air conditioning unit may testify, but a Pennsylvania federal judge partially granted a motion to exclude and barred testimony that he ruled does not require a specific expertise.
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April 17, 2024
Woman’s Experts In Pressure Cooker Explosion Case Admissible, Judge Says
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Experts on what caused a pressure cooker lid to suddenly explode can testify in a personal injury suit, an Arkansas federal judge ruled, denying the manufacturer’s motion to exclude.
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April 17, 2024
Plaintiffs In ASD-ADHD MDL Appeal Judgment, Exclusion Of Experts To 2nd Circuit
NEW YORK — Plaintiffs in the acetaminophen autism spectrum disorder-attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ASD-ADHD) multidistrict litigation who allege that prenatal exposure to acetaminophen causes autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have appealed to the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals a decision by the MDL judge to exclude their expert witnesses and to enter final judgment dismissing their cases.
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April 11, 2024
Federal Judge Issues Final Forfeiture Order In $38M Nursing Home Fraud Suit
MIAMI — A Florida federal judge issued a final forfeiture order regarding applying the assets of the former owner of skilled nursing facilities to the $38.7 million judgment entered against him for his role in a health care fraud scheme involving bribing physicians to have patients entered into the facilities he owned.
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April 10, 2024
Judge: Experts Can Testify On How Jet Fuel Spill Caused Psychological Injuries
HONOLULU — A federal judge in Hawaii largely rejected efforts by the U.S. government to exclude three experts retained by the plaintiffs to opine on the psychological impacts of a groundwater contamination case after finding that many of its arguments can be addressed through cross-examination.
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April 08, 2024
Expert Allowed In Roof Coverage Suit Pending In Nevada Federal Court
LAS VEGAS — A Nevada federal judge found that the arguments in an insurer’s motion to exclude expert testimony “are matters for cross examination and are not bases to strike” and that the expert’s testimony on the condition of a roof at the center of a coverage dispute is admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 702.
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April 08, 2024
Washington Judge Excludes AI-Enhanced Video From Murder Trial
SEATTLE — An artificial intelligence-enhanced video of a mass shooting does not meet the Frye v. United States standard, and the admission of such opaque and nonpeer-reviewable evidence would likely only introduce prejudice and complications into a murder trial, a Washington state court judge said in excluding the video.
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April 08, 2024
Medical Coding, Damages Testimony Largely Admitted In Labs’ Compensation Case
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Experts may largely testify about medical coding practices and the resulting damages labs incurred from an insurer’s denials of the labs’ claims because they go beyond a layperson’s knowledge and are based on solid calculations, a federal judge in Connecticut said in excluding only portions based on flawed data provided to the damages expert and the medical coder’s testimony about whether the labs attempted to collect from patients.
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April 05, 2024
Judge Excludes Expert Who Says Man’s Movements Suggest Jump, Not Fall, From Truck
NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey federal judge granted a motion filed by a man who was injured when he allegedly fell from a moving tractor-trailer to exclude an expert who opines that the man jumped instead of fell.
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April 05, 2024
Magistrate Judge Allows Biomechanical Testimony From Expert In Injury Suit
MIAMI — A federal magistrate judge in Florida carved out the specific testimony that one expert retained by a Carnival Corp. may offer in a personal injury suit but largely denied a man’s motion to exclude under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc.
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April 03, 2024
Chili’s Customers: Class Damages Methodology Review Not Needed In Data Breach Case
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court does not need to review a question presented by a restaurant chain owner in a data breach case concerning the damages methodology used by the certified classes’ expert as the underlying decision doesn’t present the question Brinker International Inc. seeks to resolve, restaurant customers argue in their respondent brief.
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April 02, 2024
Judge: Expert Can Testify In Prisoner’s Suit Against Facility’s Medical Staff
CHICAGO — An inmate lost his challenge in an Illinois federal court to exclude an expert retained by a doctor who treated him while in custody who will opine that there was no deviation from the standard of care during a treatment plan that led to a toe amputation.
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April 01, 2024
2nd Class Loses ERISA Case Over Proprietary TDFs After Bench Trial
LOS ANGELES — As a peer did in a similar case weeks earlier, a California federal judge has entered final judgment against a class of retirement plan participants in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action over proprietary target date funds (TDFs) following a bench trial.
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March 28, 2024
Glyphosate Cancer Plaintiff Says His Expert’s Opinions Have Not Been ‘Debunked’
SAN FRANCISCO — A man who sued Monsanto Co. for allegedly causing his cancer as a result of exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, on March 27 filed a brief in California federal court arguing that Monsanto’s arguments to exclude his expert witness fail because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has not “debunked” the expert’s opinions.
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March 28, 2024
Asbestos-Talc MDL Judge: Changes To Landscape Require Refiling Of Daubert Motions
TRENTON, N.J. — Changes in science and federal rules of evidence since a 2020 opinion on the admissibility of experts in the federal multidistrict asbestos-talc litigation warrant the refiling of Daubert motions, the federal judge overseeing the litigation said in a March 27 text-only order.
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March 26, 2024
Expert Testimony Precluded, Judgment Granted To Defendants In Auto Glass Fraud Row
PHOENIX — An Arizona federal judge on March 25 granted in part insureds’ summary judgment motion in an insurance fraud dispute alleging that they submitted fraudulent bills for automobile glass repair and replacement services, granting the motion as to insurance claims made after the insurer sent cease-and-desist letters to its insureds but denying the motion for claims before the letters were sent due to a dispute of material facts.
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March 26, 2024
No Error In Expert Testimony; Multiple Convictions Affirmed By Maryland Appeals Court
BALTIMORE — A Maryland appeals court found no error in a trial court allowing a firearms examiner to testify that the bullet casings found at the scene of shootings were from a handgun found on a man arrested with the defendant, affirming his conviction.
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March 21, 2024
Medical Experts Can Testify For Widow In Excessive Force Claim Against Police
CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge ruled that medical experts retained by a woman who alleges that her husband died as a result of a police officer using excessive force while responding to a medical emergency can testify in her suit against the officer.
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March 21, 2024
Judge: 1 Expert Excluded, Others Allowed In Insurance Coverage Spat
DENVER — Experts retained by homeowners can testify on the cause of alleged water damage that is part of an insurance coverage dispute, but the insurer’s expert is inadmissible because his testimony is irrelevant to the issues in the case, a Colorado federal judge ruled.
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March 21, 2024
Michigan Court: New Premises Liability Standard Means Expert Improperly Excluded
DETROIT — A Michigan appeals court found that a trial court improperly excluded an expert’s testimony in a premises liability suit, noting that a recent state Supreme Court case has redefined how courts should apply an open-and-obvious danger defense, and vacated the granting of summary disposition to the defendant.