Ma v. Equifax Info. Servs., LLC

288 F. Supp. 3d 1360
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedDecember 13, 2017
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 1:16–CV–1055–LMM
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 288 F. Supp. 3d 1360 (Ma v. Equifax Info. Servs., LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ma v. Equifax Info. Servs., LLC, 288 F. Supp. 3d 1360 (N.D. Ga. 2017).

Opinion

Leigh Martin May, United States District Judge

This case comes before the Court on Defendant's Motion to Exclude or Limit *1363Testimony of Plaintiff's Expert, Evan Hendricks [41]. After due consideration, the Court enters the following Order:

I. BACKGROUND

This case arises from an alleged mix-up of consumer credit files, sale of inaccurate information to creditors, and a failure to fix the problem. Dkt. No. [1]. Plaintiff alleges these problems occurred when another person's credit information became incorrectly attached to his and that Defendant failed to fix the error when it was brought to its attention. Id.

Plaintiff alleges that Defendant violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA") by not conducting a reasonable reinvestigation when Plaintiff disputed the completeness or accuracy of his credit report, and not following reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy when issuing a credit report. Plaintiff also alleges that Defendant has suffered from mix ups in the past and therefore knows about the potential for mix ups, but chooses to ignore the risk.

Plaintiff has disclosed Evan Hendricks as an expert in support of his claims. Plaintiff notes that Mr. Hendricks has (1) closely studied the credit reporting industry for more than 35 years; (2) published a newsletter and written a book on the credit reporting industry; (3) testified as an expert in several FCRA trials; (4) testified several times before Congress on FCRA issues; and (5) had access via discovery to many of Defendant's documents that are not generally publically available. Defendant contends that Mr. Hendricks's testimony must be excluded by the Court under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharms., Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 592, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993), and Federal Rule of Evidence 702.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

Federal Rule of Evidence 702 governs the admissibility of expert testimony. This rule provides:

A witness who is qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education may testify in the form of an opinion or otherwise if:
(a) the expert's scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will help the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue;
(b) the testimony is based on sufficient facts or data;
(c) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods; and
(d) the expert has reliably applied the principles and methods to the facts of the case.

FED. R. EVID. 702.

The United States Supreme Court explained the basis for this rule in Daubert, 509 U.S. at 592, 113 S.Ct. 2786. "Unlike an ordinary witness, see Rule 701, an expert is permitted wide latitude to offer opinions, including those that are not based on firsthand knowledge or observation." Id. But a jury may have difficulty evaluating an expert's opinion. See id. Accordingly, trial courts must act as gatekeepers to ensure that an expert witness's testimony is not only relevant, but reliable. Id."The proponent of the testimony does not have the burden of proving that it is scientifically correct, but that by a preponderance of the evidence it is reliable." Allison v. McGhan Med. Corp., 184 F.3d 1300, 1312 (11th Cir. 1999) (citing In re Paoli R.R. Yard PCB Litig., 35 F.3d 717, 744 (3rd Cir. 1994) ). Thus, the inquiry into reliability must focus on "principles and methodology" and not the expert witness's conclusions. Daubert, 509 U.S. at 595, 113 S.Ct. 2786.

*1364Under Rule 702, the trial court must consider whether the expert witness is qualified, whether the testimony is reliable, and whether the testimony is helpful to the trier of fact. More specifically, "[t]rial courts must consider whether:

(1) the expert is qualified to testify competently regarding the matters he intends to address; (2) the methodology by which the expert reaches his conclusions is sufficiently reliable as determined by the sort of inquiry mandated in Daubert ; and (3) the testimony assists the trier of fact, through the application of scientific, technical, or specialized expertise, to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue.

U.S. v. Frazier, 387 F.3d 1244, 1260 (11th Cir. 2004) (citing City of Tuscaloosa v. Harcros Chems., Inc., 158 F.3d 548, 562 (11th Cir. 1998) ).

The proponents of expert testimony bear the burden to show that their expert is qualified to testify competently regarding the matters the expert intends to address, the methodology by which the expert reached his or her conclusions is sufficiently reliable, and the testimony assists the trier of fact. Frazier, 387 F.3d at 1260 (quoting McCorvey v. Baxter Healthcare Corp., 298 F.3d 1253, 1257 (11th Cir. 2002) ); Cook ex rel. Estate of Tessier v. Sheriff of Monroe Cty., Fla.

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Bluebook (online)
288 F. Supp. 3d 1360, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ma-v-equifax-info-servs-llc-gand-2017.