Cases - Liverpool Roman Catholic Archdiocesan Trust v Goldberg

Record details

Name
Liverpool Roman Catholic Archdiocesan Trust v Goldberg
Date
[2001]; [2001]
Citation
BLR 479, ChD; EWHC Ch 396
Legislation
Keywords
Expert witness
Summary

An issue arose in an action (later compromised) as to the admissibility of the evidence of an expert. The expert was a colleague of the defendant in the same chambers, and a close friend. The judge held that:

'... where it is demonstrated that there exists a relationship between the proposed expert and the party calling him which a reasonable observer might think was capable of affecting the views of the expert so as to make them unduly favourable to that party, his evidence should not be admitted however unbiased the conclusions of the expert might probably be'.

However, see R v Secretary of State for Transport ex parte Factortame, doubting the accuracy of the Liverpool summary.