Tuesday, January 06, 2004

Daubert Aids Plaintiffs in 10th Circuit Decision

In an unpublished decision, the Tenth Circuit has awarded plaintiffs a new trial in a wrongful death case arising from an auto collision. The district court did not satisfactorily discharge its gatekeeping function in overruling plaintiffs' Daubert objections to defendants' expert testimony on accident reconstruction and biomechanics. See Tuato v. Brown, No. 02-2007 (10th Cir. Dec. 30, 2003) (Seymour, Henry, & McConnell, JJ.).

posted by pn at 6:53 AM  

Fed. R. Evid. 702: If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise, if (1) the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods, and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.