In a lawsuit challenging policies governing servicemembers living with the human immunodeficiency virus, the court held the plaintiffs were entitled to the vast majority of documents withheld by the government on the basis of a “deliberative process” privilege because, among ...

Tagged with: Evidence Judge Leonie Brinkema U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A witness who has a “direct financial interest” in the outcome of the case has a “clear bias” that precludes him from testifying as an expert witness. Background David Steffens, along with Williams Ellis, founded Keystone Transportation Solutions LLC, and ...

Tagged with: Evidence Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon U.S. District Court - Western District

The plaintiff defeated a motion to strike by convincing the court that any defects in his initial expert disclosure were cured by providing a supplemental report that detailed the information one expert relied upon in reaching his conclusions, withdrawing two ...

Tagged with: Evidence Judge Frederick P. Stamp U.S. District Court - Western District

A plaintiff who argued for inclusion of late “supplementation” of its earlier expert disclosure will not be allowed to rely upon the expert’s new opinions, as the “supplementation” was, in reality, untimely new opinions that would prejudice the defendant. Background ...

Tagged with: Evidence Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon U.S. District Court - Western District

Although the Virginia Freedom of Information Act allows closed-door meetings to discuss confidential employment matters, there is no privilege that would automatically protect those discussions from discovery in federal court litigation. Background This matter comes before the court on defendant ...

Tagged with: Evidence Judge Michael F. Urbanski U.S. District Court - Western District

Despite the fact that the defendant’s expert had more experience with a different gunpowder than the one used in this case, the expert was allowed to offer his opinion regarding the cause of the firearm explosion because his testimony offered ...

Tagged with: Evidence Judge Michael F. Urbanski U.S. District Court - Western District

A metallurgical engineering expert’s lack of specific expertise in firearms did not preclude his testimony that the defendant’s choice of steel caused the plaintiff’s firearm to malfunction because any objections to the expert’s conclusions could be challenged on cross-examination. Background ...

Tagged with: Evidence Judge Michael F. Urbanski U.S. District Court - Western District

The defendant was allowed to offer the testimony of its expert witness that plaintiff’s injury was caused by the positioning and use of a non-recommended bullet or the amount of gunpowder used, even though precise information regarding those factors was ...

Tagged with: Evidence Judge Michael F. Urbanski U.S. District Court - Western District

A jury is poised to hear potentially powerful evidence about the decedent’s death and her minor children’s observation of that scene. Such testimony, a court ruled, may enable the jury to estimate the mental anguish of the beneficiaries. Background Defendants ...

Tagged with: Evidence Judge Michael F. Urbanski U.S. District Court - Western District

The defendant’s motion to suppress wiretap evidence was untimely, and he had not demonstrated “good cause” for its consideration. Moreover, the defendant did not establish the court should suppress recordings of telephone conversations obtained by a wiretap between him and ...

Tagged with: Evidence Judge James P. Jones U.S. District Court - Western District