{"id":873,"date":"2012-10-02T13:43:27","date_gmt":"2012-10-02T19:43:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=873"},"modified":"2012-10-02T13:43:27","modified_gmt":"2012-10-02T19:43:27","slug":"no-appeal-for-expert-witness-third-wheel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/no-appeal-for-expert-witness-third-wheel\/","title":{"rendered":"No Appeal for Expert Witness Third Wheel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maggie Tamburro – October 2, 2012<\/p>\n

The ruling experts and attorneys often dread:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe expert\u2019s proffered testimony is not the product of reliable principles and methods as established under Daubert and is therefore excluded as inadmissible.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

A failed\u00a0Daubert<\/em>\u00a0challenge is tantamount to never making it out of the starting gate.\u00a0It often results in the granting of a motion for summary judgment and dismissal of the case. Without the expert\u2019s testimony to support the requisite burden of proof, there is no longer a genuine issue of material fact.<\/p>\n

The result? Expert testimony excluded, motion for summary judgment granted in favor of the opposing party, case dismissed.<\/p>\n

Weighing the Options<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the party who lost, options exist. The expert? Not so much. As a nonparty to the action, the expert has few if any legal remedies to the adverse ruling. To add insult to injury, the expert now has a successful\u00a0Daubert<\/em>challenge on the permanent court record. Although not necessarily the kiss of death for a career (as\u00a0Daubert<\/em>challenges are now the norm), the failed challenge will likely follow the expert for years.<\/p>\n

This spotlights the question (one I touched on\u00a0earlier this year<\/a>): Does an expert witness have any remedies when his or her testimony is\u00a0excluded as\u00a0inadmissible under a\u00a0Daubert<\/em>\u00a0challenge?<\/p>\n

One Expert Witness Fights Back<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a\u00a0case<\/a>\u00a0out of the U.S. District Court for the E.D. of Washington, one expert witness fought back. In this case, the expert\u2019s testimony failed a\u00a0Daubert<\/em>\u00a0challenge and was excluded as inadmissible. However, in a bold, buck-the-system move, the expert filed a nonparty appeal of the order excluding his testimony in the 9th Circuit, claiming that the lower court abused its discretion in excluding his testimony by using defamatory language in its order.<\/p>\n

Expert as \u201cWitness-Appellant\u201d \u2013 No Nonparty Appeal for Third Wheel<\/strong><\/p>\n

In discussing the issue, the 9th Circuit noted that it has allowed nonparty appellate standing only where \u201c(1) the appellant, though not a party, participated in the district court proceedings, and (2) the equities of the case weigh in favor of hearing an appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The appellate panel concluded that, failing the first requirement above, the expert did not have standing to appeal the district court\u2019s order excluding his expert testimony. In a unanimous decision, the 9th Circuit dismissed the expert\u2019s appeal, pointing out that the expert\u2019s participation in the case was not akin to participation as a party.<\/p>\n

Mysteriously, however, the appellate panel didn\u2019t stop there. In classic chicken-or-egg fashion, the panel curiously noted that the expert did not object to the order to exclude his testimony at the lower court level nor argue the legal merits of the motion.<\/p>\n

Which begs the question: Did the panel suggest that, had the expert objected to the motion to exclude his testimony and litigated it in the lower court, he may have been granted nonparty appellate standing? It\u2019s hard to believe, given that the expert was never a party to the original proceeding in the first place, but at least\u00a0one legal commentator<\/a>\u00a0has suggested that position.<\/p>\n

A Delicate Issue \u2013 Expert Nonparty Appellate Standing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although seemingly acknowledging such a remedy exists under the right circumstances, the circuit panel steered away from granting the expert nonparty status at the appellate level (perhaps prudently, as doing so would ostensibly open a can of worms).<\/p>\n

For example, would pursuing a remedy on behalf of the expert create a conflict of interest by making the true party\u2019s interest in the litigation possibly adverse to the expert\u2019s interest? If so, perhaps an adverse ruling on expert testimony shouldn\u2019t be appealable as part of the same case, or by the same attorney.<\/p>\n

But what if an appeal were to help the interests of both the client and expert (as it would have in the instant case)? The attorney\u2019s ethical duty and fidelity is strictly owed to the client, neither to the expert nor any other paid consultant. Blurring the distinction between the professional reputation of an expert and duty owed to the client, who is footing the bill, puts the client\u2019s interest potentially at odds with that of the expert. The bottom line: The attorney should use extreme caution from taking any position which could potentially jeopardize the duty owed to the client.<\/p>\n

Defamation as a Remedy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, the appellate court was silent on the expert\u2019s allegation of defamatory language in the order, which brings up another issue \u2013 was the expert hinting at a future, independent civil defamation action? If so, against whom? The 9th Circuit didn\u2019t elaborate. The opinion, unpublished and issued on September 5, 2012, was short on discussion, leaving more questions than answers.<\/p>\n

However, one thing seems clear. Experts are seeking remedies in a legal system that gives scant protection to their professional reputations.<\/p>\n

Viable Expert Remedies Needed?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The expert whose testimony was at issue in this case was not short on credentials. Having received a BS and MD from Brown, followed by a Master\u2019s from Harvard, he was licensed to practice medicine in three states and board certified in two areas of medicine. Additionally, even the lower court\u2019s ruling (excluding the expert\u2019s testimony) describes him as an \u201caccomplished scientist\u201d who has served as an expert witness in other related cases, noting his current involvement as an expert witness in at least one other similar case.<\/p>\n

If the challenge can be used to attack the credibility of the expert in another case, shouldn\u2019t the expert have some remedy at the district court level? Each time an expert gives testimony, he puts his credibility and professional reputation on the line, but in exchange gets no party status, no real method or due process for addressing grievances (short of filing a separate civil defamation action which can be expensive to litigate and difficult to prove).<\/p>\n

Should experts have a process to challenge exclusion of their testimony, or at the very least, placing of record an exception to the findings, response, or answer in his or her defense? Would that be consistent with the interests of the client, or create a potential conflict?<\/p>\n

Tell us what you think.<\/p>\n

No Appeal for Expert Witness Third Wheel | BullsEye Blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maggie Tamburro – October 2, 2012 The ruling experts and attorneys often dread: \u201cThe expert\u2019s proffered testimony is not the product of reliable principles and methods as established under Daubert and is therefore excluded as inadmissible.\u201d A failed\u00a0Daubert\u00a0challenge is tantamount to never making it out of the starting gate.\u00a0It often results in the granting of… Continue reading No Appeal for Expert Witness Third Wheel<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[98,17,227],"class_list":["post-873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-expert-witness","tag-daubert-challenge","tag-expert-witness-2","tag-testimony","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nNo Appeal for Expert Witness Third Wheel - 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