A False Claims Act lawsuit against a mortgage lender depended on the expert testimony of a loan underwriter. The government also relied on an expert to select loan files randomly for the underwriter to review. Daubert challenges to those two experts failed in the trial court. The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed […]

The defense attorneys of a man charged with killing an Iowa woman are now requesting the state to pay for a sleep deprivation expert and that the state pay for that expert’s fees. The Killing On July 18, 2018, 20-year-old University of Iowa student Molly Tibbetts disappeared after going on a run in her hometown […]

The attorneys for a man who is accused of shooting a youth football coach have announced that they plan to appeal a trial court judge’s decision not to allow an expert witness to testify regarding the defendant’s state of mind. The Crime At around 11:20am on December 12, 2017, a shooting was reported around outside […]

A New Jersey Tax Court judge has ruled that a municipal tax assessor should not have served as an expert in a case challenging the property value set by another municipal tax assessor, effectively stopping municipal experts from accepting certain side jobs as appraisal experts. The Tax Dispute A Hazlet, New Jersey property owner, VNA […]

The United States Supreme Court has denied a petition for certiorari filed by Imperium IP Holdings (Cayman) Ltd, allowing a Court of Appeals’ opinion regarding an expert to stand over the assessment by the jury. Original Lawsuit Imperium IP Holdings (Cayman) Ltd. is a holding company for intellectual property rights that were owned by ESS […]

Nolan Clayton and Gregory Smith became friends while working together at a Stacked Pickle bar. Smith volunteered to work during a special event at a Stacked Pickle in Indianapolis. He invited Clayton to attend the event as a guest. Smith drove Clayton to the bar. Clayton began to drink. After about an hour, Smith decided […]

The State of Florida charged Jabari Kemp with vehicular manslaughter, alleging that his reckless driving caused the deaths of five people. While Kemp’s postconviction proceedings were pending, the Florida Supreme Court adopted the Daubert standard for the evaluation of expert testimony. Applying the Daubert standard, the Florida Court of Appeals reversed the conviction and remanded […]

A California district court judge has denied a motion for summary judgment in a Ford defective transmissions lawsuit and will hold a Daubert hearing to determine the reliability of the plaintiff’s automotive technician expert. The Defective Transmission Lawsuits Dozens of plaintiffs filed separate lawsuits against Ford Motor Company, alleging that the power shift transmissions in […]

The government, with its vast resources, has a distinct advantage when it brings criminal charges against all but the wealthiest defendants. Since poor defendants have the same right to a fair trial as wealthy defendants, the Supreme Court has held that the constitutional right to equal protection of the law demands that defendants not be […]