Retaining an expert witness in a contentious legal lawsuit can provide the insight and experience necessary for a jury or judge to clearly understand complex, technical issues in a lawsuit. When the judge and jury understand your case, you’re in a better position to win. Here’s an example.

CASE STUDY OVERVIEW

Company A, a large software company, buys Company B, a small startup software company with a specialized niche in software engineering.

Company A sells the services of both the combined companies A & B to Company C.  Unfortunately, Company A’s marketing team oversold the capabilities of the combined company AB to Company C.   A key factor in this case was that Company B has specialized skill and talent to perform the work company C required.  Company C entered into a contractual arrangement with Company AB for software development work.

Three months later, Company C’s original project budget was totally depleted and another 100% of the budget had to be allocated for the remaining work.

The work schedule slipped six months past the original agreed upon contractual date.  Company C sued Company AB for breach of contract, failure to perform and lack of technical competency.  Because Company AB and Company C were in different states, the case was set to be tried in Federal Court.  Company C retained expert witnesses to review the entire project and identify where possible errors occurred.

THE EXPERT WITNESS’S ROLE

The retained expert witness is a computer science professional who has extensive software development experience.  The expert witness determined that Company AB had culpability and liability in this action.

• First, Company A failed to successfully integrate Company B into its culture, creating a critical liability.
• The quality of the developed software was poor. For instance, over 50% of the newly developed software modules required significant rework and redesign.
• Further, there was a lack of senior level managerial commitment by Company AB for this contract with Company C.
• Company AB continued to lose key employees during the project.
• The Company C contract was not a large money maker for company AB. Subsequently, the company assigned the newest and least experienced personnel to the project.

While this case is still in discovery stages, a jury trial is all but assured.

OUR ADVICE

When entering or pursuing a complex legal matter, seeking and retaining professional expert counsel and expert witnesses should be the first step.  Expert witnesses possess key domain and discipline knowledge that can help a judge or jury separate fact from fiction. If the judge or jury understands the case and your position, you’re in a better position to win.

Importantly, using the services of an expert witness who has domain knowledge is a cost efficient, effective way to help the judge and jury find the right answer to the legal question being litigated.

If you need help resolving a tough legal matter, let our consultants discuss the matter with you.  Call us 817-386-3032; we will be happy to review your case with you.  Visit our expert witness support services page to learn more.