Expert Witnesses are important. In order to obtain a favorable verdict, policyholder lawyers must be able to perform exhaustive pre-trial preparation while also being able to effectively present evidence at trial, including expert-opinion evidence.
Continue Reading Great Expert Witnesses Are Important to Property Insurance Cases
Picking the right expert has never been more important when fighting an insurance company that has wrongfully denied an insurance claim. The rule for expert admissibility has just changed in Florida and the same concerns about experts apply everywhere.
Continue Reading Claim Denied? Why Picking the Wrong Expert Can Cost You
Recently, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal found that a trial court abused its discretion by allowing the trial testimony of an insured homeowner’s expert when he expanded on his opinions during trial. The case is Citizens Property Insurance Corporation v. Vazquez.1
Continue Reading Get Your Experts Opinions Nailed Down Ahead of Trial, or Else!
In a first-party property insurance dispute, a property owner may seek to have a lay witness or expert witness testify that the value of his or her property diminished in value as a result of the loss.
Continue Reading Lay Witness or Expert Witness Testimony on Diminished Value?
Generally, in Florida, when there is a difference of opinions between each party’s expert, the jury gets to decide who’s right, not the judge. But there has been a trend by insurance companies in the first-party property context of taking their expert’s report before the judge and arguing, in essence, “our expert’s right, the insured’s is wrong, so find in favor of the insurance company as a matter of law.”
Continue Reading Appellate Court Reverses Summary Judgment Where Battle of Experts Created a Jury Question
Insurance companies hire all kinds of experts to help them for all kinds of reasons. The problem is that some experts are not honest and never try to find the truth. The other problem is some policyholders or their under-financed attorneys do not hire experts or very good experts.
Continue Reading Experts Regarding Causation Can Be More Important Than Witnesses — or, Don’t Believe Your Lying Eyes When Your Insurance Company Hires an Expert
On March 28, 2017, a New Jersey federal district court found an insured’s evidence supporting their property damage coverage claim was sufficient to survive the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.1
Continue Reading Supermarket Damaged in Superstorm Sandy Survives Motion for Summary Judgment
A recent case filed in the Western District of Texas highlights the importance of retaining experts to assist in evaluating the cause of loss early in the claim process. In White Lodging Services Corporation et al v. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company,1 a hotel development and management company filed suit against Liberty Mutual over a collapse claim that arose during the construction of a hotel. The policyholder had a builders’ risk insurance policy issued by Liberty Mutual.
Continue Reading Collapse Claim Highlights the Importance of Retaining Experts Early in the Claim Process
Missouri has adopted a new standard for expert witness testimony. The old standard was based upon a statute, while the new standard follows the Daubert1 standard. In Daubert, the United States Supreme Court held that the enactment of the Federal Rules of Evidence overturned the Frye2 standard which had been in place since 1923. Frye held that evidence could be admitted in court only if “the thing from which the deduction is made” is “sufficiently established to have gained general acceptance in the particular field in which it belongs.” Thirty-nine other states and the federal government follow Daubert to determine whether expert witnesses may testify in court.
Continue Reading Missouri’s New Expert Witness Standard
As we enter a new year, FEMA has issued WYO Bulletin W-16091, “Guidance on the Use of Expert Services.”
The purpose of the memorandum is “to ensure transparent and consistent claims handling for all policyholders” and to provide “guidance on the use of services provided by subject-matter experts as part of specific claims investigations.”
Continue Reading FEMA Issues Bulletin on Use of Experts by WYO Carriers