In Insurance Cases as in other kinds of cases, it is a truism that Expert Opinion Testimony must be based on the record evidence. The Sixth Circuit recently reiterated this notion in a unique way in a case involving Kentucky substantive law:
Courts are understandably wary of allowing unanchored, hypothetical expert testimony to constitute the exclusive foundation of a plaintiff's case. Doing so would be too unreliable. See Ky. Trust Co. v. Gore, 192 S.W.2d 749, 752 (Ky.1946) (finding that expert testimony must be supported by “proven facts”). However, when an expert “buttress[es][his] opinion by reference to the proved circumstances in a case,” [citation omitted]or bases his opinion on “personal examinations and tests,” [citation omitted], the jury is entitled to credit that opinion.
Arch Insurance Co. v. Broan-Nutone, LLC, 2012 WL 6634323 *8 (6th Cir. December 21, 2012). Insurance Claims and Issues highlights an article posted on the Federal Courts' "gatekeeper" function for allowing Expert Witness Testimony, in this post on December 26, 2012.
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