Plaintiffs Joshua Cane Jellison and Jessica Marie Jellison (collectively “Plaintiffs”) alleged violations of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, against PHH Mortgage Corporation, the assignee and servicer of their mortgage loan.
Plaintiffs claimed that they entered into a COVID-19 forbearance, which caused them to accrue past due payments. According to Plaintiffs, PHH offered to resolve the past due payments by way of a Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”) COVID-19 Recovery Standalone Partial Claim Mortgage (“PCM”), through which the FHA would have purchased Plaintiffs’ outstanding debt and secured it with a second position mortgage. Plaintiffs contended the PCM would have paused any monthly payments until the mortgaged property was sold or the mortgage serviced by PHH was paid in full or refinanced. They alleged that PHH did not timely approve Plaintiffs’ entry into the PCM and instead threatened foreclosure. PHH believed it properly rejected Plaintiffs’ applications for the PCM because Plaintiffs did not meet all of the requirements. Plaintiffs were eventually approved for the PCM and did not lose their home through foreclosure.
Plaintiffs alleged generally that they incurred damages because their credit score was substantially reduced which severely affected their ability to run their business.
When Plaintiffs produced the report of their economic expert, Key Coleman, Defendant PHH Mortgage Corp. filed a motion in limine to exclude the testimony of Coleman.
Accounting Expert Witness
Arthur Key Foster Coleman, CPA, CFA is Executive Director and Founder of Litigation Economic & Forensic Consulting Group LLC. Coleman has more than 30 years of experience providing business and financial analysis. His focus is on forensic accounting, commercial disputes, damages and expert testimony.
Coleman serves full-time as Assistant Professor of Business at Rosemont College.
Discussion by the Court
Relying entirely on Jellison’s statements regarding his existing and future business ventures, Coleman concluded that Plaintiffs suffered economic damages in the amount of $322,608 from the alleged loss of the opportunity to expand Plaintiffs’ business by purchasing additional equipment.
In its challenge to strike Coleman’s testimony at trial, PHH argued that his opinions are “inherently unreliable” because “his economic damages calculations are predicated entirely on speculative and unverified information provided to him by Mr. Jellison.”
More specifically, PHH argued that Coleman’s opinions are based upon Joshua’s unsupported and unverified statements regarding (1) his future business plans; (2) the market conditions implicated by those plans; and (3) the viability and potential profits of those “purported plans.” PHH stressed that Coleman bases his opinion solely on what Jellison told him about demand for expanding his business.
Analysis
This Court and others, however, have noted that an owner of a business who participates in day-to-day operations is qualified to offer an opinion as to lost profits based on the company’s actual operating history.
The historical business information supplied by Jellison and relied upon by Coleman is based upon Jellison’s personal knowledge acquired from the day-to-day operations of East Coast.
As such, Coleman was justified in relying upon his discussions with Jellison, in conjunction with tax returns and other documents which corroborated Jellison’s representations concerning lost profits relating to expansion of his business.
Moreover, because Coleman’s report relies upon data from tax returns for years 2021 through 2023, which reveals not only sales revenue but also depreciation and amortization of equipment needed for the addition of new crews in 2022 and 2023, the data is relevant to the facts of the case.
Here, the information provided by Joshua Jellison is corroborated by East Coast’s tax returns.
Other documents Coleman relied upon include those reflecting the dramatic drop in Jellison’s credit score; 2022 Depreciation and Amortization Report; Automobile Schedule for East Coast Equipment; Refusal for Small Business Line of Credit from PNC Bank; Delinquent Tax Reminder from Westmoreland County Tax Claim Bureau; 2019-2023 Tax Returns of Partnership Income with supporting documentation; and other documents.
Tax records include information relating to equipment costs when adding the second and third crews in 2022 and 2023. Coleman outlined the methodology he used based on information he received from Jellison and supported by this documentation. Thus, there is an adequate factual foundation for Coleman’s opinions.
This factual foundation establishes a clear “fit” connecting Plaintiffs’ alleged damages with Coleman’s opinion. The cases relied upon by PHH simply do not carry the day.
Held
The Court denied PHH Mortgage Corp.’s motion in limine to exclude the testimony of expert witness Key Coleman.
Key Takeaway
In its discretion and considering all facts and circumstances, the Court found by preponderance of the evidence that Coleman’s report was supported by “good grounds,” and relevant such that it will assist the trier of fact. Coleman relied upon business tax returns, which were prepared by an outside accountant, and reviewed by the IRS. Coleman was able to corroborate Joshua Jellison’s representations from these documents. PHH, however, may conduct a thorough and vigorous cross examination of Coleman and Joshua Jellison at trial concerning future business plans and the market conditions supporting those plans.
Case Details:
| Case Caption: | Jellison V. PHH Mortgage Corporation |
| Docket Number: | 2:23cv739 |
| Court Name: | United States District Court, Pennsylvania Western |
| Order Date: | January 20, 2026 |
Leave a Reply