Economic Analysis and Damages Opinion of Bayesian Statistics Expert Excluded as Unqualified

The court granted plaintiff's motion in limine to preclude defendants' damages expert from testifying at trial as unqualified. "[T]here is merit to plaintiff’s argument that [defendants' expert] 'does not do what he is qualified to do and is not qualified to do what he does.'. . . [The expert] explicitly claims to provide an 'economic analysis' in support of his opinions, which purport to apply concepts drawn from the 'economic subfield' of 'industrial organization, and specifically antitrust economics.' Yet [his] graduate studies did not include coursework in economics or any of its subfields, nor does [he] hold a degree in economics or accounting — two fields from which damages experts commonly emerge. . . . At best, the record establishes that [the expert] has expertise in the fields of Bayesian statistics (which, he explained, 'deals specifically with the introduction and incorporation of subjective probability assessments integrated with – in settings in which data is unavailable,' and economic modeling. But [he] denied conducting 'any kind of Bayesian analysis' to arrive at his opinions in this case, and nothing in his report suggests that he performed any economic modeling. . . . [D]efendants insist that he is not 'being offered up as "an economist,"' but rather as 'a damages expert and economic modeler.' As just noted, however, defendants do not point to any portion of [the expert's] report in which he performs economic modeling, and none of the authorities they cite suggests that 'damages expert' is a recognized field of expertise."

Robertson Transformer Co. v. General Electric Company, et al, 1-12-cv-08094 (ILND August 19, 2016, Order) (Bucklo, USDJ)