Opinion ID: 180432
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The District Court's Exclusion of the Expert Testimony and Judgment as a Matter of Law

Text: After almost six days of trial, the district court considered the admissibility of the testimony of Barkan's purported expert, Frank Torchio. Barkan's theory of damages was that his inability to restructure his debt prevented him from developing additional stores under the SDAs, and Torchio was prepared to testify about the profits Barkan would have realized from operating those stores. Torchio's proposed testimony was limited to the issue of damageshe disavowed any opinion as to whether Dunkin' Donuts' conduct prevented Barkan from restructuring or opening new stores. After a hearing outside the presence of the jury, the district court excluded his testimony because Torchio's opinions were (1) based on facts not in the record, and (2) irrelevant in light of the lack of evidence that Barkan would have opened additional stores but for the denial of the debt restructuring. After Torchio's testimony was excluded, Barkan rested and Dunkin' Donuts moved for a judgment as a matter of law. The district court granted the motion on three grounds: (1) insufficient evidence that Dunkin' Donuts breached the Agreement, (2) no evidence that the alleged breach caused CIT not to restructure the loan[,] and (3) no evidence that.... [the alleged breach] caused Barkan any loss.