This case involves alleged damage to a plasma cutter that was to be used for a welding business. Plaintiff Giger Welding and Fabrication, LLC (“Giger”), purchased a plasma cutter from an auction in Texas to assist with its welding business in Missouri. To get the plasma cutter to Missouri, Giger contracted with Defendants DFW Movers & Erectors, Inc. (“DFW”), and AFC Transportation, Inc. (“AFC”), to load and transport it on a semitruck. The plasma cutter was allegedly damaged during shipment.
Giger then sued DFW to recoup damages for the repair of the plasma cutter as well as lost profits.
Giger’s expert, Dr. William Rogers, has submitted a report on economic damages. DFW sought to exclude Giger’s testimony that potential customers did not accept his bids because of the lead time and cost required due to Giger not having use of the damaged plasma cutter.
Economics Expert Witness
Dr. William Harris Rogers is an economist and owner of John Ward Economics focused on providing economic testimony in the Kansas City and St. Louis metro areas and beyond. He is a former associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Saint Louis (2004-2016) with a Ph.D. in Economics. Rogers has worked as a forensic economic consultant and expert witness estimating financial losses for litigation purposes since 2015.
Discussion by the Court
Rogers is an economist whose expertise is limited, in this litigation, to calculations of damages based on information provided to him by Giger. To begin with, the Court did not allow Giger to introduce otherwise inadmissible hearsay through its expert, when that expert’s expertise is unrelated to the welding trade or the reliability of the alleged statements of potential customers.
Also, Rogers may not opine, as he does in his report, that he “believes it is appropriate to identify Giger’s losses through the lens of lost productivity while awaiting the plasma cutter’s replacement or repair.” This is, after all, an ultimate question of fact for the jury. Once Rogers explains how lost productivity and profits are calculated, the jury will be in a position to assess the appropriateness of lost profits as a measure of damages and apply Roger’s testimony to Giger’s claims.
Giger testified under oath that he gave bids to multiple potential customers in response to requests from those customers. While Giger and its expert witness shall not testify about the reasons purportedly given by potential customers for their denials of Plaintiff’s work bids, the Court held that Giger and its expert may offer evidence of the bids themselves.
Held
The Court limited the testimony of Giger’s expert, Dr. William Rogers.
Key Takeaway
Expert witnesses are not allowed to to give an opinion on an ultimate question of fact. The experts are only permitted to explain the criteria by which they would form such an opinion.
Case Details:
| Case Caption: | Giger Welding And Fabrication, LLC V. Tranzact Technologies, Inc. |
| Docket Number: | 4:21cv741 |
| Court Name: | United States District Court, Missouri Western |
| Order Date: | February 10, 2026 |
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