When an expert witness is called to the stand, it is in both parties’ interest to confirm the expert has the requisite – and advertised – experience to weigh in in testimony. In the case below, our diligence helped the defense discredit the expert witness selected by the plaintiff’s legal team and further call into question the legitimacy of the plaintiff’s claims overall.

The Problem

Our client, a law firm representing the owners of a major stadium who were being sued for excessive use of force against a patron during a music event, sought to learn more about the background and experience of an expert witness who had been called by the plaintiff in a multi-year legal dispute with tens of millions of dollars on the line. Specifically, our client sought information that would cast doubt on his expertise, such as evidence he had exaggerated his credentials, as well as past statements regarding use of force and fan ejection that contradicted his current position.

Our Solution

We conducted a thorough review of the expert witness’ background and attempted to verify each qualification provided on his eight-page resume, including academic degrees and courses, professional certifications, past employers, original publications regarding stadium safety and security, and past awards and accolades he had earned over the course of his career. Our research found the expert witness had:

  • Fabricated an undergraduate degree and previous employment as an adjunct professor, neither of which the university had any record
  • Never published any statements or material concerning the topic of use of force specifically, further calling into question his level of “expertise” with regard to the dispute
  • Misrepresented several of the awards disclosed on his resume, which were granted to him by organizations he himself had founded and overseen
  • Failed to disclose that nearly all of his professional certifications had been expired for several years
  • Only provided expert testimony in one other case nearly 30 years prior on a different topic entirely

Our research also identified instances documented in press and social media in which attendees had been forcibly removed from stadiums where the expert witness had previously worked and overseen safety and security, opening a line of questioning for our client to further probe the sincerity of the expert witness’ modernday statements against forcibly removing disruptive patrons.

The Outcome

Because of our findings, our client was able to successfully argue in court that the expert witness did not have sufficient, relevant expertise to provide testimony on the legal dispute at hand.