by Mark Tottenham BL | Mar 24, 2020 | Admissibility of expert evidence
In the December 2019 issue of the Bar Review, Orla Kelly of Cantillons Solicitors questions two recent dicta of the Irish High Court, in an article entitled ‘To refer or not to refer: Are solicitor referrals to a medical consultant a step too far for prudent...
by Mark Tottenham BL | Mar 3, 2020 | Admissibility of expert evidence
“The court agreed with the defendant’s argument to exclude the expert’s testimony on the breach of the standard of care because these were legal conclusions. The court further noted that the expert was not qualified to testify because there was no evidence of...
by Mark Tottenham BL | Feb 18, 2020 | Examples of expert evidence
In today’s Irish Times (18 February 2020), there is a letter by Michael Lillis about Robert Daly, a psychiatrist who died recently. Daly had given evidence before the European Court of Human Rights in the ‘hooded men’ case – the claim by a...
by Mark Tottenham BL | Jan 31, 2020 | Expert determination of disputes
The Supreme Court of Ireland has considered circumstances in which an independent expert can determine matters of law if a dispute is referred to him or her. In Dunnes Stores v McCann [2020] IESC 1 (22 January 2020), the plaintiffs argued that the independent expert...
by Mark Tottenham BL | Jan 8, 2020 | Admissibility of expert evidence
This article highlights the difficulties involved where one party seeks to exclude expert evidence. The suggestion is that, where a judge acts as ‘gatekeeper’, there may be an imbalance arising from the judge’s lack of technical understanding. In...
by Mark Tottenham BL | Dec 31, 2019 | Admissibility of expert evidence, Qualifications of expert witnesses
In a recent decision of the High Court of Ireland, the court refused to admit a report by a purported expert, where there was insufficient evidence of his qualifications. “In that report, there is no indication whatsoever that Mr.Fitzpatrick holds any...
by Mark Tottenham BL | Dec 3, 2019 | Examples of expert evidence
Subway’s case against the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has been dismissed, based on expert testimony. CBC had accused Subway of selling ‘chicken’ that was 50% soy. “There is considerable divergence between Subway’s evidence and that...
by Emma Jane Prendergast BL | Nov 28, 2019 | Case management, Engaging experts, Qualifications of expert witnesses
This week, the annual conference of The Bar of England and Wales heard of the difficulties faced by legal practitioners when tasked with engaging medical experts who are both currently practising and willing to come to court. An account of the discussion can be found...
by Mark Tottenham BL | Nov 27, 2019 | Examples of expert evidence
When Virgin Records released the album Never Mind the Bollocks: Here’s the Sex Pistols, the owner of a record shop in Nottingham was prosecuted for obscenity after displaying a poster, despite warnings to take it down. His defence was conducted by John Mortimer...
by Mark Tottenham BL | Nov 26, 2019 | Concurrent evidence ('hot tubbing')
The procedure known as ‘hot tubbing’ (‘concurrent evidence’ or ‘debate among experts’) has been adopted by the High Court in New Delhi for intellectual property disputes. The procedure is used for the examination of expert...
