Category: Law And Legal Expert Witness
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Legal Expert’s Testimony on the Customs and Usages of the Oil and Gas Industry Admitted
Louisiana Minerals, Ltd., as lessor, and Weyerhaeuser, as lessee, are the successors in interest to a 1986 Timber Sale and Lease Contract (“Contract”). LML asserted that Weyerhaeuser has entered into a significant number of unauthorized third-party agreements that impinge upon or adversely affect LML’s rights under the Contract. Damages were sought for harm caused by…
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Religious Studies Expert’s Testimony on the Beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses Admitted
Plaintiff Brianna Bolden-Hardge is a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and believes her faith forbids her from “swearing primary allegiance to any human government” and “swearing to engage in political or military activity—including taking up of arms.” She applied for a position with the Office of the California State Controller (“SCO”) and received an offer.…
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Law And Legal Expert’s Speculative Calculations of Future Earnings Excluded
Drew Dixon alleged that the Defendant, Antonio Marquis “L.A.” Reid sexually harassed her and refused to allow her to succeed unless she acquiesced to his demand to be alone and in close proximity to her while she was employed as an A&R executive at Arista Records from 1996 to 2002. Dixon claimed that Antonio Reid sexually…
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Legal Expert Allowed to Testify Despite His Lack of Particularized Expertise
The Federal Trade Commission contended that Amazon tricked, coerced, and manipulated consumers into subscribing to Amazon Prime. According to the FTC, this was accomplished by failing to disclose the material terms of the subscription clearly and conspicuously and by failing to obtain the consumers’ informed consent before enrolling them. The FTC also alleged that Amazon…
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Expert’s Legal Conclusions Advocating for Class Certification Excluded
This putative class action was initiated by Plaintiffs, a group of individuals who are leaseholders of oil and gas leases, against Defendant XTO Energy Inc (“XTO”) alleging that XTO breached their leases when it deducted unreasonable and excessive post-production costs from their royalty payments. Therefore, XTO filed a motion to exclude certain opinions of Plaintiffs’…
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Law And Legal Expert Was Not Allowed to Testify Regarding State Law Ethical Standards
Plaintiff Kuantay Reeder filed a civil rights lawsuit against Jason Williams, the Orleans Parish District Attorney, in his official capacity. Reeder had spent more than 26 years in prison following a wrongful conviction for murder. He claimed the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office (OPDA) violated his right to due process by failing to disclose exculpatory…
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Law And Legal Expert’s Testimony on the Existence of an Attorney-Client Relationship Excluded
Plaintiff Iron Tax, Accounting & Financial Solutions, LLC (“Iron Tax”) brought this suit against Defendants Story Law Firm, PLLC and Travis W. Story (collectively, “Defendants” or “Story”) for legal malpractice. The claims here arise out of an underlying suit that resulted in a default judgment being entered against Iron Tax for failing to timely file…
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Admitting Foreign Law Experts: Navigating Rule 44.1 in Court
The case centered on a dispute over property ownership in Cuba. The Plaintiff relied on the testimony of Avelino Gonzalez, an expert in Cuban law, to establish their claim. The Defendants, however, challenged the admissibility of Gonzalez’s testimony on multiple grounds. Law And Legal Expert Witness Avelino Gonzalez is an attorney with a Summa Cum…
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Law And Legal Expert Witness Cannot Opine on the Standard of Care of Non-Lawyers
Joy Banner brought this suit against Defendants Michael Wright, St. John the Baptist Parish, and Jaclyn Hotard (collectively “Defendants”) alleging violations of her First Amendment right to freedom of speech during a St. John the Baptist Parish council meeting. Richard Stanley, an attorney-expert, has been hired by Defendants to opine about “whether a person could…
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Law And Legal Expert Witness Improperly Speculates about the Defendant’s Motivation
This is an insurance bad faith case stemming from Westfield’s handling of a first-party property insurance claim following a fire. Plaintiffs JME Investments, LLC (“JME”) and Hiway Bar, LLC (“Hiway Bar”) (together, “Plaintiffs”) filed claims after a kitchen fire damaged their property on July 12, 2020. The fire burned a building owned by JME. Constructed…
