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The Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education Committee and the Construction Law Committee of The Florida Bar Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section’s 8th Annual Construction Law Institute took place in Orlando March 12-14, 2015, and I was privileged to have had the opportunity to work with The Honorable John W. Thornton, Judge of the Complex Business Division of the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, presenting “Expert Opinion Testimony in Florida: Navigating the Mine Field.”
Our presentation was based on a paper that I developed together with one of our firm’s outstanding law clerks, John Criste. It began with a discussion of the necessity for the use of expert testimony due to the technical nature of most construction disputes, which typically involve defects in design, delays, building codes, contractual obligations and the apportion of responsibility. We then covered the guiding principles behind the use of expert testimony, including the “Daubert Reliability Test” and how it applies in construction litigation.
Judge Thornton and I then turned the discussion to the standards that should be used to qualify an expert, and how experts can rely on reports by others if they were used to help form their opinion or conclusion. We covered the statutes governing the use and admissibility of lay opinion testimony, including that of project of personnel, and we also discussed important case management considerations, including the order of the expert disclosures, whether written reports are required, depositions of experts, and the timing of Daubert challenges. We concluded with a discussion of the effective use of non-testifying experts to translate technical construction information for attorneys and find the potential loopholes in your client’s case as well as in the opposition’s arguments.
The discussion was lively, with very active participation from the standing room audience of some 300 construction lawyers from throughout Florida. Thanks, also, to the insightful comments of audience member, Fourth District Court of Appeal Chief Judge Dorian Damoorgian, the presentation was very well received.