RE: Expert witnesses

[ma...@mgforbes.com]

> Well, you could tell the truth in your expert report, deposition, etc,

> but tell them that you had said what they wanted, and they might

> never actually read it, especially if you started out with some rambling philippic.

Let us earnestly hope that it never gets to that stage. We don't want to be

paying for a jury trial. Quite apart from the randomness of jury awards, if it

gets that far then we have failed to quash the case early on procedural grounds,

such as the existence of our waiver in which we agree to accept ALL potential

risk, known and unknown, whether or not caused by negligence, to the greatest

extent allowed by law. Claims like this should not even be filed, let alone

litigated, if we're doing things right. If they do go as far as filing, they should

be dismissed early on summary judgment. That is the reason we have a waiver,

so that we can have a defense for participant liability...which is what this is.

Yes, there are some kinds of negligence you can't waive....but if the story so far

is anything to go on, this is a case of two pilots trying to occupy the same airspace,

and not a deliberate, malice-aforethought act intended to cause injury. We ALL 

have a responsibility to look out for each other, and whenever there's a mid-air,

there are two pilots who can be at fault. If anything, the more experienced pilot

is at greater fault than the student, because the experienced pilot is supposed 

to know enough to be aware of students and avoid them. They're students,

after all, and still learning what to do. 

Perry Mason moments are Hollywood fiction, nothing more. If ol' Perry showed up

in the courtroom with last minute evidence, it would likely be ruled inadmissible

because the other side didn't get to see it before trial. I'm hopeful that when the

potential plaintiff's attorney takes a look at our waiver, he'll decide that this isn't

a case where he has a high likelihood of winning and will move on to a more

lucrative target. If it gets as far as a filing, I expect a California court will look at

precedent and the waiver, and dismiss the case on summary judgment.

MGF