Cathy Truitt filed seven tax returns in 2009, each claiming her entitlement to a $300,000 refund. The IRS recognized that six of returns were fraudulent, but inexplicably issued the refund demanded by the seventh return. Within a week, the IRS recognized its error and demanded that Truitt return the money. By that time, Truitt had […]

Jeffrey Klingenberg fell as he was stepping from a roof onto a ladder. He sued Vulcan Ladder for manufacturing, and GP International for selling, a defective ladder. He also sued for breach of warranty, alleging that a label stating the ladder had a “working load” of 300 pounds created an express warranty. A jury rejected […]

About ten years ago, a Texas jury sentenced George Powell to 28 years in prison for an aggravated robbery. Texas allows defendants to elect whether the judge or jury will determine the sentence in noncapital cases. Powell’s conviction was affirmed on appeal. Powell’s conviction was based in part on a video of the convenience store […]

The firing and discrediting of a Hennepin County, Minnesota nurse who examined sexual assault victims and was a prosecution expert witness has prompted the independent review of all of the criminal cases in which she was involved. Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) Nurse Jarvis Kristi J. Jarvis was a Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) nurse. […]

Experts, unlike fact witnesses, are sometimes allowed to testify about inadmissible hearsay if they relied on the hearsay to form an opinion. Whether or not they mention the hearsay in their testimony, the federal (and most state) rules of evidence prohibit experts from giving opinions that are based on hearsay unless experts in the field […]

Desirae Glatfelter confronted her boyfriend about her suspicion that he was having an affair. When he denied the accusation, Glatfelter became irate. Her boyfriend grabbed her in a “bear hug,” purportedly to calm her down. In the words of the court, he also “administered a French kiss.” Glatfelter objected to the “administration” of the kiss […]

An expert for Exxon Mobil Corporation has opined that the authorities’ claims that the company hid the financial risks of climate change are “a tad circular.” The Securities Fraud Trial New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a complaint against Exxon Mobil Corporation, alleging that Exxon intentionally misled investors about the way it planned for […]

A recent decision of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit addressed the importance of using forensic experts when a litigant is suspected of destroying electronic evidence. The practice of deleting emails will often entitle the opposing party to a remedy. In most cases, the remedy will be an instruction that allows the jury […]

A Texas jury found that Bell Helicopters was grossly negligent in exposing an engineer to asbestos and that the exposure caused the engineer’s mesothelioma. An appellate court reversed the judgment after concluding that the testimony of an expert witness failed to establish Bell’s gross negligence. Facts of the Case Bell Helicopters employed Billy Dickson for […]

A company called Acantha sued DePuy Synthes Sales and DePuy Synthes Products for patent infringement. Acantha patented an “Orthopedic Implant Assembly” for joining bone segments together during spinal surgery. The implant consists of a plate that is screwed into a bone segment. Once the head of the screw passes through an elastic snap ring, the […]