Expert Advice
Jan. 8, 2024
Courts should be cautious in excluding experts, panel advises
As gatekeepers of expert testimony, trial courts should focus on “principles and methodology, not on the conclusions that they generate ,” a 4th District Court of Appeal panel found.
California trial courts should be cautious in excluding expert testimony but not allow speculative or irrelevant opinions, an appellate panel held, reversing a lower court's ruling in favor of BNSF Railway Co. in a wrongful-death lawsuit.
Justice Martin N. Buchanan for the 4th District Court of Appeal wrote in the unanimous opinion Thursday that as gatekeepers of expert testimony, trial courts should focus on "principles and methodology, ...