Plaintiffs 4612 S. 88th Street, LLC (“4612”), and OO7, LLC (“OO7”) filed their claims alleged in this matter against Tri-State to obtain the replacement cost insurance benefits provided under Tri-State Policy No. ADV 3188538-21 for direct physical damage sustained to the insured premises at 4612 South 88th Street, Omaha, Nebraska (the “4612 Building”) and 8811 J Street, Omaha, Nebraska (the “8811 Building”) as a result of a hail and wind storm that occurred on or about May 28, 2019 (the “2019 Storm”).
Defendants Tri-State Insurance Company of Minnesota and Auto-Owners
Insurance Company filed motions to exclude the testimony of Paul
Douglas and Ryan Scribner.
Engineering Expert Witness
Paul M. Douglas, P.E received a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of Nebraska in 1993. He is also registered or licensed as a Professional Engineer in 28 states, including Nebraska.
Douglas is a Structural Engineer and Forensic Consultant with Engineering Specialists, Inc. Douglas has spent 15 years with ESI dedicating a majority of his work to forensic engineering projects which he describes as “investigations to determine why building structures or machines fail to function in the way they were intended to.”
Roofing Expert Witness
Ryan Scribner is a general contractor and owner of Scribner Enterprises, Inc., which specializes in roofing installation and replacement.
Discussion by the Court
Paul Douglas
Douglas personally inspected the buildings that are the subject of this lawsuit, as well as others, on April 26, 2023, with two other engineers from ESI.
To begin with, Auto-Owners focused on the age and deteriorated condition of the properties. Undoubtedly, Defendants will submit evidence regarding the age of the roofs. On the other hand, Plaintiffs, through Douglas’ opinion and possibly other evidence, will submit contrary views indicating that the damage resulted from wind and hail. Again, these types of factual disputes are for the jury to determine and are not a basis for excluding a witness.
Moreover, Defendants will be able to impeach Douglas’ testimony if they believe the age of the roofs and/or some other weather event contributed to the damage. The fact that the experts disagreed on the cause of the roof damage did not render Douglas’ opinion inadmissible.
In this case, the Court found that Douglas was qualified to offer his opinions and that, based on his knowledge, skill, and experience, he had sufficiently explained the bases for his opinions, including his reasons for concluding that the roof damage was consistent with hail damage and required replacement.
Ryan Scribner
Scribner was retained to testify about the necessary and reasonable costs for labor and material costs relating to the repair and replacement of the roofs. The only issue Auto-Owners had with Scribner’s testimony is that he utilized Douglas’ engineering report when he prepared his estimate for repair.
However, it is clear from Scribner’s disclosure and deposition that he is not going to provide expert testimony as to the condition of the roof himself. He is basically going rely on Douglas’ engineering report to opine on the types of repairs that would need to be done and estimate the material and labor costs associate therewith.
Because the Court has found that Douglas’ expert opinions are admissible, Scribner’s reliance on them for purposes of estimating the repair costs is appropriate.
Held
The Court denied the motions to exclude the testimony of Paul Douglas and Ryan Scribner.
Key Takeaway
The Court found that Paul Douglas and Ryan Scribner are qualified to offer their opinions in their respected fields; that based on their knowledge, skill, and experience, they have sufficiently explained the bases of their opinions; and that these opinions are sufficiently reliable to aid the jury.
Case Details:
| Case Caption: | 4612 S. 88th LLC V. Tri-State Insurance Company Of Minnesota |
| Docket Number: | 8:24cv245 |
| Court Name: | United States District Court for the District of Nebraska |
| Order Date: | May 26, 2026 |
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