Shorn T. Joseph v. Legislature of the Virgin Islands and Hon. Donna Frett-Gregory

Superior Court of The Virgin Islands·Decided September 30, 2022·No. ST-11-CV-419·Unpublished

Opinion

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS DIVISION OF ST THOMAS AND ST JOHN

SHORN T JOSEPH ) ) CASENO ST 11 CV 419 Plaintiff ) v ) ACTION FOR DAMAGES ) LEGISLATURE OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS and ) the HONORABLE DONNA FRETT GREGORY ) in her official capacity as President of the 34‘h ) JURY TRIAL DEMANDED Legislature of the Virgin Islands, ) ) Cite as 2022 V I Super 83U Defendants ) )

Shari N D’Adrade, Esq Kye Walker, Esq Christopher Kroblin, Esq The Walker Legal Group Kellerhals Ferguson Kroblin PLLC 220] Church Street Ste 16AB 9053 Estate Thomas Suite #101 Christiansted St Thomas V1 00802 St Croix V1 00820 Attorneys for Plamtsz Attorneysfor Defendants

CARTY RENEE GUMBS JUDGE

MEMORANDUM OPINION

1|] THIS MATTER is before the Court upon Defendants Legislature of the Virgin Islands

and the Honorable Donna Frett Gregory 3' (“Defendant Legislature”) Daubert Motion m Lzmme

to exclude the expert testimony of Dr Gary Albrecht, an economist, pursuant to Virgin Islands

‘ At the commencement of this action, Plaintiff Shom Joseph originally named the Legislature of the Virgin Islands and Ronald E Russell, as President of the 29th Legislature subsequently Shawn Michael Malone as President of the 30th Legislature Neville A James as President of the 31stLegislature, Myron D Jackson as President of the 32nd Legislature and Novelle E Francis as President of the 33rd Legislature Neither Ronald E Russell Shawn Michael Malone, nor Neville A James is still in office and the Honorable Novelle E Francis no longer serves as the President Therefore, in accordance with V I R Civ P 25(d), this Court has automatically inserted the name of the Honorable Donna Frett Gregory as the current successor of the presidency of the Virgin Islands Legislature Joseph v Legislature ofthe Vtrgm Islands Cite as 2022 V I Super 83U CaseNo ST 11 CV 419 Memorandum Opinion

Rule of Evidence 702 Defendants motion was filed on June 7, 2022, mmc pro tune to May 25,

2022 Plaintiff Shorn Joseph (‘ Plaintiff" or “Joseph ’) filed his opposition on June 27, 2022 The

Court held a Daubert hearing (the Hearing’) on July 13, 2022 For the reasons set forth herein,

the motion to exclude the testimony and expert report of Dr Albrecht will be denied

I Factual Background

1l2 Shorn Joseph was employed by the Virgin Islands Legislature as Assistant Legal Counsel

in the Office of Legal Counsel from July 2007 until February 9 2011 While working at the

Legislature, Joseph also served as First Lieutenant and Judge Advocate General in the United

States Army Reserve (“Anny Reserve”) and a member of the National Guard of the Virgin Islands

011 September 29, 2010, Joseph provided his supervisors, then Senate President Louis Patrick Hill

and Attorney Yvonne Tharpes, with written notice that he was being ordered to active military

service for training Joseph was ordered to attend training from October 23, 2010, to February 3,

2011, however, on January 19, 2011, he was informed by the Army Reserve that he was ordered

to continue training until March 22, 201 1 He notified the Defendants of this extension on J anuary

31, 2011 He received no reSponse On February 7, 2011, Joseph contacted the office of then

Senate President Ronald E Russell and was informed, by an office assistant, that he was being

terminated, effective two days later on Wednesday, February 9, 2011

II Procedural History

1[3 On September 14, 201 1, Joseph filed a six count Amended Complaint seeking relief in the

form of reinstatement, back pay, and liquidated damages He filed suit under the Uniformed

Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 ( USERRA ) codified at 38 U S C

§ 4311 et seq Title 23 Section 1531(a) of the Virgin Islands Code for employment

discrimination, breach of his employment contract, and other causes of action To support his 2 Joseph v Legislature ofthe Virgin Islands Cite as 2022 V I Super 83U Case No ST 11 CV 419 Memorandum Opinion

claims, Joseph retained an economic expert, Dr Gary Albrecht The Legislature did not contest

Dr Albrecht’s expert qualifications but they contested the methodology and reliability of the

expert’s report on the contention that he relied on insufficient reliable data and unverified data

deriving solely from the Plaintiff Defendants also contested the applicability of his report and

testimony to the facts of this case

1|4 In the Legislature’s motion to exclude Dr Albrecht’s opinions, they argued that Dr

Albrecht’s opinions cannot be presented to the jury since they rely on an insufficient factual record

and on statements by Plaintiff without any proper factual foundation Specifically, Defendants

challenge Dr Albrecht’s opinions as to (l ) the Plaintiff’s economic loss in back pay, and (2 ) the

Plaintiff’s future loss of earning capacity

‘gS Dr Gary Albrecht is an economist with over two decades of experience and specializes in

economic forecasting and applied econometrics He has written numerous peer reviewed

publications in legal and forensic economics journals and worked as an economics professor at

Wake Forest University for over a decade Dr Albrecht has also served as Vice President and a

member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Forensic Economists and has

testified as an expert in employment termination cases before

16 They argued Dr Albrecht s methodology and opinions are wholly unreliable as he failed

to include a substantial amount of data regarding Plaintiff’s new business ventures and income

since the termination All of Dr Albrecht’s economic projections were conducted without income

deriving from Ideal Development, LLC, and not on foundational documentary evidence, but

instead on a non objective and unreliable single source Attorney Joseph

3 Joseph v Legzslature ofthe Vzrgm Islands Cite as 2022 V I Super 83U Case No ST 11 CV 419 Memorandum Opinion

111 Legal Standard

‘17 Virgin Islands Rule of Evidence (V I R E) 702 governs the admissibility of expert

testimony in Virgin Islands courts Rule 702 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 V I R E 702

18 The Virgin Islands has relied on the analytical framework established in the United States

Supreme Court’s decision in Daubert v Merrell Dow Pharmaceutzcals Inc , 509 US 579 (1993),

for determining whether expert testimony is admissible under Rule 702 Daubert has developed a

trichotomous test See Antzlles v Lembach 2016 W L 948969 (Mar 14 2016) Three

requirements must be met 1 ) the expert must be qualified, 2 ) the expert’s opinion must derive

from a reliable process or technique, and 3 ) the testimony must assist the trier of fact, i e , it must

be applicable to the facts of the case Succinctly put, all three (3) factors qualification, reliability,

and fit must be present [d

{9 “Qualification” refers to the requirement that the witness possess specialized expertise

Expert testimony must be rooted in the expert’s scientific, technical, or other specialized

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Shorn T. Joseph v. Legislature of the Virgin Islands and Hon. Donna Frett-Gregory, (visuper 2022).

Shorn T. Joseph v. Legislature of the Virgin Islands and Hon. Donna Frett-Gregory (Shorn T. Joseph v. Legislature of the Virgin Islands and Hon. Donna Frett-Gregory) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
509 U.S. 579 (Supreme Court, 1993)
United States v. William Montoya
827 F.2d 143 (Seventh Circuit, 1987)
Alexander v. People
60 V.I. 486 (Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands, 2014)