On opening an opinion, lawyers habitually roll their eyes when they see a table of contents. Even more so when they learn the opinion is over 300 pages. The MDL order granting defense motions to exclude experts and for...more
12/14/2022
/ Cancer ,
Causation ,
Daubert Standards ,
Expert Testimony ,
Expert Witness ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
Over The Counter Drugs (OTC) ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Rule of Evidence 702 ,
Summary Judgment ,
Toxic Chemicals
It is virtually a law of legal physics in California that liability tends to expand until a critical mass of appellate courts rule that it has reached its limit, or the Supreme Court puts up a stop sign (a vanishingly rare...more
Most courts (but certainly, and unfortunately, not all of them) recognize that cherry-picking is a cardinal sin under Rule 702. Science generally requires a rigorous and conservative approach to evaluating cause-and-effect...more
There has been much discussion recently about how Rule 702 is in need of a tune-up to better guide district courts’ gatekeeping. More about that soon.
But a case now pending before the Supreme Court, Monsanto Company v....more
The nature of advocacy makes it hard sometimes for lawyers to focus solely on the outcome and the bottom line result. How a court gets there may not matter much to the prevailing party in the dispute as they celebrate the...more
On March 25, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court, revisiting the issue of due process limitations on the exercise of personal jurisdiction, most recently addressed by the...more
The first appellate shoe has dropped in the litigation involving the herbicide Roundup, Johnson v. Monsanto Co., decided July 20, 2020, by California’s 1st District Court of Appeal, Division One. We discussed the verdict and...more
The Aftermath of Marsh -
When the Marsh case was decided in 2007 its broad interpretation of the “pure opinion exception” and narrow vision of the role of Frye took Florida expert evidence admissibility law well out of the...more
7/8/2019
/ Admissibility ,
Appeals ,
Causation ,
Daubert Standards ,
Evidence ,
Expert Testimony ,
Florida ,
Kelly-Frye Test ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Motion to Exclude ,
Reversal ,
Rule of Evidence 702 ,
Scientific Research ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trial Court Orders