Hurricane Seen From Space (Photo by NASA)
In Great Lakes Ins. S.E. v. Sunshine Shop. Ctr., Inc. d/b/a Sunshine Mall, Nos. 2019-0039 & 2020-0033, 2022 WL 4598829 (D.V.I. Sept. 30, 2022), the Court applied the prevailing Third Circuit test for the admission of Expert testimony following the Supreme Court's decision in Daubert: qualifications, reliability, and fit.
Having just gone through Hurricane Ian, I chose this case because it involves a Hurricane too: Hurricane Maria which struck the U.S. Virgin Islands and allegedly caused damage to a shopping mall. The mall owner purchased "all risks" commercial property insurance.
The mall owner proffered the expert opinion and testimony of a licensed professional engineer to prove its covered damages.
This case stands at the head of a long line of cases in which Courts decline to permit proffered experts to over-reach. The Court in this case held that the licensed professional engineer did not have the qualifications to render the opinion she reached, and her methodology was not reliable in reaching her opinion.
All in all, the lesson after a Hurricane when the skies are their bluest, it seems, is that the feeling of release and joy of at last getting to go someplace besides the inside of your house does not mean that you are freed from all constraints. In other words, proffered experts, like the rest of us, should stay in our lane for our best chance to please the Court.
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