Expert Article Library
Case Name: Zenith Electronics Corp. v. WH-TV Broadcasting Corp. (http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/fdocs/docs.fwx?submit=showbr&shofile=04-1635_037.pdf)
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; on appeal from the Northern District of Illinois
Date: January 20, 2005
Expert: Economic Consulting. Peter Shapiro
Issues: Whether expert witnesses can merely rely on their expertise, subjective beliefs or intuition, and C.V. when they testify in court.
Summary of case: The TV station WH-TV sought to expand its market share in
Role of the expert: Mr. Shapiro testified for the broadcaster, WH-TV.
Expert analysis: Mr. Shapiro planned to testify that if the devices had met the newest TV standards, WH-TV would have experienced rapid and dramatic growth. However, he did not base his calculations on competitors actual sales, calculate the potential TV subscriber base or use data from comparable markets. Instead, he insisted that each market is unique, including
The district court found that such reliance on intuition and CV is not sufficient when an expert testifies in court. An expert must use reliable principles and methods for his/her analyses. Experts failure to look outside
Summary prepared by M. Dellinger, Student, Golden Gate University School of Law