Forum
U.S. Supreme Court
Case Status
Decided
Docket Number
Term
Cert. Denied
Lower Court Opinion
Questions Presented
1. Whether the two-part standard of reviewing expert-admissibility rulings employed by the Ninth Circuit, along with the Third and Seventh Circuits, improperly empowers these courts to reverse district court decisions to exclude evidence without “the deference that is the hallmark of abuse-of-discretion review.” Joiner, 522 U.S. at 143.
2. Whether an expert’s qualifications and mere invocation of a scientific methodology can be sufficient to require admission of his testimony, as the Ninth Circuit concluded, or whether Rule 702 requires that a witness, no matter how qualified, must also satisfy the court that his methodology was “reliably applied to the facts of the case,” as several other circuits have held.
Case Updates
Cert. petition denied
March 19, 2018
U.S. Chamber urges Supreme Court to clarify deference owed to trial courts’ “gate keeping” function, which prevents unreliable expert testimony
December 20, 2017
The Chamber filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to grant review to help ensure that the Ninth Circuit’s decision reversing the district court’s exclusion of a proposed expert does not lead to a proliferation of dubious causation theories that escape Daubert scrutiny.
John H. Beisner, Jessica D. Miller, and Geoffrey M. Wyatt of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP served as co-counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center.
Case Documents
- Ninth Circuit Opinion -- Wendell v. GlaxoSmithKline LLC (Ninth Circuit).pdf
- Cert. Petition -- Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Wendell (U.S. Supreme Court).pdf
- Respondent GSK's Brief in Support of Cert. Petition -- Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Wendell (U.S. Supreme Court).pdf
- U.S. Chamber Amicus Brief -- Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Wendell (U.S. Supreme Court).pdf
- DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar Amicus Brief -- Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Wendell (U.S. Supreme Court).pdf