The Southern District of New York barred a causation Expert's "ipse dixit" about damage caused during a Hurricane, in 405 Condo Associates LLC v. Greenwich Insurance Co., 2012 WL 6700225 (S.D.N.Y. December 26, 2012).
The causation Expert submitted a Report and was prepared to testify that the cause of the Policyholder's claimed loss was due to the winds of Hurricane Irene, wind being a covered cause of loss. This Opinion went directly to the heart of the Coverage dispute in this case. After investigation, the Insurance Company denied the claim on the ground that the damage was caused exclusively by water seepage or wind-driven rain, excluded causes of loss under the Policy. 405 Condo Associates LLC v. Greenwich Insurance Co., 2012 WL 6700225 *1 (S.D.N.Y. December 26, 2012).
The Insurance Company filed a Motion to Bar the Policyholder's Expert's Testimony and a Motion for Summary Judgment. The New York Federal Court granted the Motion to Bar the Expert Testimony on the ground that the Policyholder's causation Expert did not base his causation Opinion on any clear methodology, or on relevant data, or even on timely personal inspection of the property at issue. As a result, the Opinion was inadmissible speculation or an "ipse dixit" (i.e., "I said it, therefore it is true" or "It is true because I said it"). 405 Condo Associates LLC v. Greenwich Insurance Co., 2012 WL 6700225 *3-*4, *5 (S.D.N.Y. December 26, 2012).
The Federal Court then denied the Insurance Company's Motion for Summary Judgment on the grounds that there was sufficient evidence in the record for the Policyholder's claim to go to the Jury, or that the Insurance Company had in any case failed to meet "its burden of proving that no genuine factual dispute exists regarding the source of the property damage." 405 Condo Associates LLC v. Greenwich Insurance Co., 2012 WL 6700225 *6 (S.D.N.Y. December 26, 2012).
Happy New Year! And in the Spirit of a New Year to come for us all, take a look today at Cavalcade of Risk No. 173 hosted on Van R. Mayhall, Jr., Esquire's excellent blog, "Insurance Regulatory Law". Van calls this hosting posting "Surviving the Mayan Apocalypse Edition"!
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