From last week's decision by Judge Paul Byron (M.D. Fla.) in Grayson v. No Labels, Inc.:
The Plaintiff, Alan Grayson, contends in his Second Amended Complaint that the Defendants, acting through Progress Tomorrow, published false and defamatory statements which damaged him "personally, professionally, and ultimately politically." The allegedly defamatory statements fall into three categories: (1) citation to a Congressional Ethics Investigation finding candidate Grayson had "Abused His Office for Financial Gain," including by using "taxpayer resources to conduct his high-risk investor scheme;" (2) images of Grayson's passport photograph with dollar signs replacing his eyes, an attaché case containing $150,000, and images implying he flew to the Cayman Islands to launder the money; (3) statements relating to accusations made by Grayson's ex-wife in connection with their divorce proceedings during which she accuses him of spousal abuse….
The Plaintiff retained Mr. Nicholas Carroll to provide expert testimony on the following topics:
- Editorial opinion on potential liability, and whether to refer ads to legal counsel.
- Harm to the reputation of Alan Grayson by negative political advertising.
- The costs of repairing that reputation.
The Defendants seek to exclude Mr. Carroll's expert testimony for the following reasons:
(1) he is not qualified to testify with respect to the standards for publishing political ads;
(2) his testimony is unreliable insofar as it is based on nothing except his subjective, unscientific opinion that is not backed by review of any underlying facts or any studies;
(3) his testimony does not assist the trier of fact, because he is testifying on matters of common sense that can readily be determined by the jury without expert testimony; and
(4) he impermissibly replies (sic) on another expert's opinion….
