Court Disallows Expert Witness Testimony on Cleanup Cost Allocation

摘要

In a September 27, 2007 decision, the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of New York ruled that an expert witness, a geologist, could not testify on cleanup cost allocation because that is a legal conclusion that must be made by a court (Chitayat v. Vanderbilt Associates, No. 03-5314). The court also ruled that another expert witness, a professional engineer, could not testify on cleanup cost allocation or whether performed cleanup work was compliant with the National Contingency Plan. However, the court did allow the expert witnesses to testify on technical topics.