ACCELERANT SPECIALTY INSURANCE COMPANY
v.
BALLARD
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This is a procedural order from the District Court of South Florida addressing competing Daubert motions filed by both parties seeking to exclude expert witness testimony. The court denied plaintiff's motion for leave to file a reply memorandum and vacated the defendant's prior extension to file a reply, holding that reply memoranda are unnecessary, particularly in bench trials where standards for expert testimony are more relaxed.
The court denied plaintiff's motion for leave to file a reply memorandum and vacated the prior extension granted to defendant. Reply memoranda are not necessary where, as here, the case is being tried to the court as a bench trial rather than to a jury, because the gatekeeping standards for expert testimony are more relaxed in bench trials.
[1] A court may deny a motion for leave to file a reply memorandum if reply memoranda are not necessary for the court's determination.
[2] An extension of time to file a reply memorandum may be erroneously granted if leave to file a reply was not previously sought or granted.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“In a bench trial, barriers to opinion testimony are more relaxed than in a jury trial.”
Establishes the legal standard for admitting expert testimony in bench trials versus jury trials
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe parties filed competing Daubert motions to exclude each other's expert witnesses. The court's pretrial order prohibited reply memoranda absent lea…
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opposes the present motion. For the reasons discussed below, the motion is denied.
The parties have both filed Daubert motions seeking to exclude the testimony of their opposition's expert witness. See (DE [82]) and (DE [98]). The Court's pretrial order limits the briefing on Daubert motions and expressly prohibits the filing of reply memoranda unless leave is granted by the Court. See (DE [24]).
Notwithstanding that prohibition, Defendant sought (and received) an extension of time to file a reply memorandum in support of his Daubert motion. See (DE [102] and [103]). Defendant did not previously seek, and the Court had not granted, leave to file a reply memorandum. The extension of time was, therefore, erroneously granted.
The Court has reviewed the parties' respective Daubert motions and concludes that reply memoranda are not necessary. This is especially true because this case is being tried to the Court, not to a jury. In a bench trial, barriers to opinion testimony are more relaxed than in a jury trial. United States v. Brown, 415 F. 3d 1257, 1268 (11th Cir.
2005). "There is less need for the gatekeeper to keep the gate when the gatekeeper is keeping the gate only for himself.” Id. at 1269. Accordingly, it is hereby
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to File Reply in Support of Motion to Strike F. David Famulari as an expert witness (DE [108]) is DENIED.
It is further ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the portion of the paperless order at (DE [103]) granting Defendant an extension of time to file a reply memorandum to Plaintiff's Response to Defendant's Corrected Motion to Strike Plaintiff's Expert (DE [99]) is VACATED. Defendant shall not file a reply memorandum.
DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, this 7th day of March 2025.
RAAG SINGHAL UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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