Wisconsin Business and Commercial Litigation » Wisconsin Senate http://noahfiedler.com Badger State Litigation Information for In-House and Private Practice Lawyers Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:46:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Wisconsin’s Expert Witness Rules Join the 20th Century (Yes, I Know We’re In the 21st Century) http://noahfiedler.com/2011/02/wisconsins-expert-witness-rules-join-the-20th-century-yes-i-know-were-in-the-21st-century/ http://noahfiedler.com/2011/02/wisconsins-expert-witness-rules-join-the-20th-century-yes-i-know-were-in-the-21st-century/#comments Fri, 11 Feb 2011 20:39:59 +0000 admin http://noahfiedler.com/?p=570 2011 Wisconsin Act 2, which became effective on February 1, 2011, brings (among other things) the Daubert reliability standard to Wisconsin’s consideration of expert witness evidence, replacing the Walstad  relevancy rule.  For civil actions, the new standard will be applicable to cases filed on or after the effective date (for criminal cases, applicability is not without question — see John DiMotto’s article in Bench and Bar Experiences).  That’s too bad, because there are a couple of cases I’m working on now that have very questionable expert witnesses who might not survive a Daubert inquiry.  But I digress.

New Wis. Stat. 907.02 reads:

If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise, if the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods, and the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.

While the rules are a little tighter under Daubert,  I don’t expect that most expert evidence will be impacted.  The change to the language of the statute isn’t drastic.  More importantly, judges have been doing things a certain way for many years, so it’s reasonable to expect that change will come slowly.

]]> http://noahfiedler.com/2011/02/wisconsins-expert-witness-rules-join-the-20th-century-yes-i-know-were-in-the-21st-century/feed/ 0 The Bill That Might Change Your Auto Insurance Rates http://noahfiedler.com/2009/10/the-bill-that-might-change-your-auto-insurance-rates/ http://noahfiedler.com/2009/10/the-bill-that-might-change-your-auto-insurance-rates/#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:54:39 +0000 admin http://noahfiedler.com/?p=224 Used under a Creative Commons License from Peyman's Flickr gallery

Used under a Creative Commons License from Peyman's Flickr gallery

In the Wisconsin Law Journal, Dave Ziemer writes an opinion piece about the proposed legislation that would prohibit insurance companies from using ZIP codes to set automobile insurance rates.  You can find more information at this site and in an article from the Wisconsin State Journal, which provides contact information.  While the discussion relates to personal auto insurance, this bill could impact on business insurance rates, as well.

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