Opinion ID: 2154496
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Admissibility of the Experts' Valuation Testimony

Text: UDC contends that the trial court erred in permitting Dr. Conway and Dr. Saha to testify as to the value of Dr. Vossoughi's course materials, unpublished research, and fabricated devices. UDC asserts that the witnesses lacked the qualifications necessary to testify as experts on valuation and merely rubber-stamped Vossoughi's speculative and erroneous valuations without providing any reasonable basis for their opinions. [8] We disagree. In this jurisdiction, the admissibility of expert testimony depends on three criteria: (1) the subject matter [must] be so distinctly related to some science, profession, business or occupation as to be beyond the ken of the average layman; (2) the witness [must] have sufficient skill, knowledge, or experience in that field or calling as to make it appear that his opinion or inference will probably aid the trier in his search for truth; and (3) the state of the pertinent art or scientific knowledge permits a reasonable opinion to be asserted by an expert. [9] The trial court has broad discretion in determining whether to admit expert testimony, and its ruling admitting or excluding such evidence will not be disturbed unless manifestly erroneous. [10] Similarly, [w]hether a witness possesses the requisite qualifications to express an opinion on a particular subject is within the trial court's discretion, and its decision in that regard will only be reversed for an abuse. [11] It is undisputed that the valuation of Dr. Vossoughi's specialized property was a proper subject for expert opinion testimony; it is certainly a subject distinctly related to Dr. Vossoughi's occupation and beyond the ken of the average lay juror. As to the experts' qualifications, the issue is not whether Dr. Conway and Dr. Saha had formal training in property appraisal, market valuations or financial analysis, nor whether they previously had been qualified as experts on the valuation of property. The witnesses had extensive experience as experimenters, researchers and academics in Dr. Vossoughi's field, and they had considerable familiarity with Dr. Vossoughi's laboratory, research and achievements. Each witness had worked with Dr. Vossoughi, fabricated similar equipment, created and taught similar courses, performed similar research, and funded or budgeted similar projects. The trial court readily could find that the witnesses' knowledge and experience prepared them to offer informed opinions regarding the time and resources necessary to replicate Dr. Vossoughi's lost course materials, unpublished research, and specially fabricated devices. Furthermore, the record does not support UDC's claim that Dr. Conway and Dr. Saha rubber-stamped Dr. Vossoughi's valuations and could not provide any independent, reliable, or rational basis for their opinions. [12] Dr. Conway and Dr. Saha articulated methodologies for estimating the value of each type of property on the basis of objective data  e.g., fabrication costs, academic compensation rates, grant funding guidelines and practices. These methodologies were not precise, but (as we shall discuss below) this is an area in which precision is neither achievable nor required. It is enough that the methodologies constituted reasonable ways of approximating what it would cost to recreate the course materials, research data, and fabricated equipment that Dr. Vossoughi lost. While there were some gaps in the witnesses' knowledge, notably with respect to the exact nature of much of Dr. Vossoughi's unpublished research, these gaps were exposed at trial and did not vitiate the overall reliability of Dr. Conway's and Dr. Saha's testimony. In short, the trial court had ample grounds to find that the valuation testimony involved subject matter beyond the ken of the average lay juror; that it was provided by qualified experts; and that it had a reasonable and reliable basis. We conclude that the court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the testimony.