Expert witnesses are an integral part of construction disputes. An expert assists a party in proving or disproving liability or damages. In construction disputes, an expert could be used relating to a construction or design defect, a delay, an inefficiency, the standard of care, building code violations, the repair protocol, etc. Irrespective of the basis for retaining an expert, oftentimes the expert generates a report with his/her opinions (and documentation relied on to form those opinions), is deposed, and, if the case proceeds to trial, is relied on to provide expert opinion testimony.
Recently, I wrote an article about the Daubert test which is a court’s gatekeeping test to determine whether the expert opinion testimony is admissible. Parties utilizing experts in construction disputes need to understand this Daubert test. Please take a look at this article to familiarize yourself with Daubert to ensure you are engaging and preparing the right expert.
Additionally, I wrote another article on expert opinion testimony including the standard of appellate review if a court strike’s expert opinion testimony or allows an expert to testify subject to an objection. Please take a look at this article because it is common for a party prior to trial to move to strike an opposing expert or portions of that expert’s opinion testimony.
Please contact David Adelstein at dadelstein@gmail.com or (954) 361-4720 if you have questions or would like more information regarding this article. You can follow David Adelstein on Twitter @DavidAdelstein1.