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Testimony Of Expert Under Daubert And FRE 702 Upheld
The Federal Circuit ruled that a district court properly performed the 'gatekeeping' role required of it by the U.S. Supreme Court in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and by Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence when it allowed the testimony of plaintiff's damages expert. Micro Chemical, Inc. v. Lextron, Inc. (Fed. Cir., Jan. 24, 2003). The plaintiff, Micro Chemical, alleged that defendants Lextron and Turnkey Computer Systems, Inc. infringed Micro Chemical's U.S. Patent No. 5,315,505 for a computerized medical records system for tracking health histories and medical treatments of livestock.
The defendants objected to the testimony of Micro Chemical's expert, Edward Fiorito, arguing, among other things, that he based his opinion on inaccurate facts and relied on the statements of others and did not undertake an independent investigation of the feedlot industry or personally review the parties' financial records. The Federal Circuit upheld the District Court's decision to allow the expert testimony, explaining that under Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence a trial court is required to ensure that expert testimony must be based on 'sufficient facts or data,' but that Rule 702 does not authorize a trial court to exclude an expert's testimony because it believes one set of facts or the other. The Federal Circuit also cautioned that the trial court's role of gatekeeper described in Daubert is 'not intended to serve as a replacement for the adversary system.'
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
Compliance Officers: Recent Regulatory Guidance and Enforcement Actions and Mitigating the Risk of Personal Liability
This article explores legal developments over the past year that may impact compliance officer personal liability.