Damages Expert Testimony Rejected in Patent Infringement Case

It is well established that expert witnesses who offer their opinions to juries must build testimony from a solid foundation of reliable methodology that supports their conclusions.  The Daubert standard of evaluating the reliability of testimony applies to any expert, including, as a recent federal decision highlights, expert witnesses whose testimony is focused strictly on […]

Medical Experts Shed Light and Cast Doubt On Shaken Baby Syndrome

The tragic death of 4-month-old Lincoln Wilber in 2007, initially determined to be the result of child abuse, is getting a second look by a handful of nationally renowned medical expert witnesses. At the behest of Northwestern University’s Medill Justice Project, experts in abusive head trauma, pathology, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) reviewed the […]

Sixth Circuit Dismisses EEOC’s “Race Rating” Expert

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a ruling that dismissed an unreliable expert witness, demonstrating the strict requirements that must be met by parties seeking to admit expert testimony into a trial. In EEOC v Kaplan Higher Education Corp, the Sixth Circuit criticized the EEOC for calling an unreliable expert to […]

Attorney Fined for Shocking Expert Witness with Toy Electric Pen

A Utah Judge has ordered California attorney Don Howarth to pay an unsuspecting expert witness $1,000 for administering an electric shock during a particularly bizarre cross-examination demonstration. Howarth questioned the testimony of Dr. A.P. Meliopoulos, an electrical engineering professor at Georgia Tech, by use of a children’s toy gag pen, capable of delivering a minor […]

Pistorius Defense Team Fights Back With Ballistics and Anesthetist Experts

Earlier this month, a break in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial gave us the opportunity to analyze the testimony of expert witnesses who helped build the prosecution’s case against the former Olympian who is accused of murdering his live-in girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius, who has testified that he killed Steenkamp when he mistakenly thought she was […]

Technology and Economics Experts Play Key Role in Apple-Samsung Patent Infringement Lawsuit

Apple and Samsung, who have been waging a high stakes patent battle over smartphone and tablet technology for years, continued to place significant value on expert witness testimony throughout their recent patent infringement lawsuit. In the latest case, Apple filed suit for violations of five patents while Samsung counter-sued for violation of two of its […]

New York Case Demonstrates Effective Challenge of Expert Witnesses

The use of expert witnesses has become commonplace across the American legal landscape, and attorneys must develop the ability to challenge opposing experts during the course of the trial process. In an effort to keep experts away from juries, most attorneys will attempt to preclude opposing expert witnesses from providing testimony by either challenging the […]

Dueling Experts and the Oscar Pistorius Case

On Valentine’s Day, 2013, noted South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius, who gained fame for competing in the 2012 London Olympics despite not having legs below his knees, fired four gunshots through his bathroom door to kill his live-in girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp.  Now, from halfway across the globe, the ensuing murder investigation has captured the […]

Will GM or Viagra Generate The Next Big Litigation?

Bad news for the public: the Deepwater Horizon Gulf Oil Spill, the defective GM ignition switch, or a widely used drug that turns out to have dangerous consequences – all create “Big Cases.” Big Cases are good news for lawyers and for the expert witnesses they need. What makes a Big Case? A large number […]