December 11, 2017

Attorneys William E. Peters and Alejandro F. Garcia obtained a dismissal of a lawsuit on the morning of trial after the Court granted the property insurer’s motion to exclude a majority of the opposing expert’s causation and damages opinions. The plaintiff’s property sustained minor damages to the base kitchen cabinet after a plumbing leak that did not exceed the policy’s deductible. Plaintiff’s expert opined that the leak caused a separation between the back and base panels in the interior of the kitchen cabinet which allowed water to damage the drywall behind the cabinet, that the leak damaged the tile flooring and that it would cost in excess of $71,000 to repair the damages caused by the loss. The expert admitted during his deposition that all of these opinions were speculative and not based on any known facts and the Court excluded the opinions accordingly. The plaintiff dismissed the case minutes before jury selection began.