Bemo USA Corp. v. Jake's Crane, Rigging & Transport International, Inc.

MEMORANDUM

The district court did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of Bemo USA Corp. for the business interruption damages of $2,996,661 because the district court’s decision to admit Martha Zehnder’s report as reliable expert opinion evidence was not “illogical, implausible, or without support in inferences that may be drawn from facts in the record.” United States v. Hinkson, 585 F.3d 1247, 1263, 1264-65 (9th Cir.2009) (en banc). Ms. Zehnder’s background and the contents of her report provided ample basis for the district court to conclude that her opinion was sufficiently reliable to be received in evidence, particularly as the report provided considerable detail as to her precise methodology and there was no challenge to its propriety. This was, therefore, one of those “ordinary cases where the reliability of the expert’s methods [wa]s properly taken for granted,” Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137, 152 , 119 S.Ct. 1167 , 143 L.Ed.2d 238 (1999), and there was no abuse of discretion.

Jake’s Crane, Rigging & Transport International Inc. waived its mitigation defense because it was not “argued specifically and distinctly” in its opening brief on appeal. See…