The Seventh Circuit recently issued two opinions with interesting evidentiary issues. We wrote about the multiple levels of hearsay in Jordan v. Binns, No. 11-2134 (7th Cir. Apr. 4, 2013), last week. And, this week, the court’s decision in Lees v. Carthage College, No. 11-3061 (7th Cir. Apr. 16, 2013), reversed part of a district court’s decision about the admissibility of an expert’s testimony.
Tag Archives: Experts
Judges as Gatekeepers: Requiring a “Plain English” Explanation of Expert Testimony and Meaningful Analysis of an Expert’s “Principles and Methods”
Posted in Federal Decisions; Seventh CircuitThe Seventh Circuit recently made clear that a district court’s duty to rule on the admissibility of expert testimony requires a meaningful examination into whether a proffered expert’s analysis is methodologically sound. After reversing the plaintiff’s jury verdict as legally deficient, the court in ATA Airlines, Inc. v. Federal Express Corp. addressed the jury’s damages award, ruling that it was based on a fundamentally flawed regression analysis.
Is the Need for Expert Testimony a Question of Substantive or Procedural Law?
Posted in Federal Decisions; Seventh CircuitShow v. Ford Motor Co., slip op., Nos. 10-2428 & 10-2637 (Sep. 19, 2011), issued recently by the Seventh Circuit, provided Chief Judge Easterbrook with the opportunity to explore the question whether the need for expert testimony is one of substantive or procedural law, so that in a diversity case the court should follow state or federal law.