Expert Witness’ Methodology Unreliable
The testimony of an expert witness who conducted no experiments to prove his theory of liability is unreliable and must be excluded.
On May 18, U.S. District Court Judge J.P. Stadtmueller granted summary judgment in favor of a manufacturer of a product that kills algae in swimming pools, concluding, "It is 'elementary' that [the expert's] theory should have been submitted to testing, whether by him or by others in a study."
The court also held that, without experience in designing warning labels, an expert is unqualified to testify in a failure to warn action.
Judge Stadtmueller wrote, "While Mr. Schuck's education and job experience reflects considerable expertise in environmental engineering and superior knowledge of the field of chemistry, it shows no similar expertise in the area of warnings."
Case: Lemmerman v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 08-CV-779
(Republished by permission. For a full analysis of the court's opinion, see the May 31st print issue of the Wisconsin Law Journal.)
