The weight of expert testimony in product liability cases can hardly be overstated. Because complex questions of scientific and medical causation often hold sway, juries are thirsty for someone to tell them what the evidence means, and thus the inevitable “battle of the experts” ensues. But what happens when an expert tells the jury that the physical … Continue Reading
Special Counsel Hall R. Marston recently published an article in the California Daily Journal on Sargon Enterprises v. USC (pdf), a new California Supreme Court opinion setting out Daubert-like standards for admissibility of expert testimony. Anticipating interest in the article, the paper’s editorial staff arranged a video interview (subscribers only) for Hall to address the … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the California Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion confirming the obligation of California trial judges to act as gatekeepers to insulate jurors from speculative expert testimony. The Court affirmed a trial court discretionary ruling excluding an expert’s opinion on future lost profits where the opinion lacked any objective factual anchor and applied standards so … Continue Reading