Igbinoghene et al v. Standard Fire Insurance Company

Filing 23

ORDER & REASONS denying 18 Motion to Exclude the Estimate and Testimony of Steve Hitchcock. Signed by Judge Jay C. Zainey on 3/1/2012. (gbw, )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
GEORGE IGBINOGHENE, ET AL.

CIVIL ACTION

VERSUS

NO: 11-1058

THE STANDARD FIRE INSURANCE
CO.

SECTION: "A" (4)

ORDER AND REASONS
Before the Court is a Motion to Exclude the Estimate and
Testimony of Steve Hitchcock (Rec. Doc. 18) filed by defendant The
Standard Fire Insurance Co.

Plaintiffs George Igbinoghene and

Sebastian Busari have not responded to the motion.1

The motion,

set for hearing on February 29, 2012, is before the Court on the
briefs without oral argument.
Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit seeking to recover additional
payments under a homeowner’s policy.

They allege that their

dwelling, which is located in New Orleans, Louisiana, was damaged
as a result of fire and looting.

Defendant removed the case to

this Court based on diversity jurisdiction.
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The case is scheduled

The Court directs Plaintiffs’ attention to Local Rule 7.5
of the Eastern District of Louisiana which requires that a
memorandum in opposition to a motion be filed no later than eight
days before the noticed submission date. The noticed submission
date for Defendant’s motion was February 29, 2012, which means
that Plaintiffs’ opposition was due no later than February 21,
2012, or in this case February 22, 2012, which was the day after
Mardi Gras. Plaintiffs must respond to Defendant’s upcoming
Motion for Partial Summary Judgment and their failure to do so
will likely result in the Court issuing an order granting the
motion as unopposed.

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to be tried to the Court without a jury on April 23, 2012.
Defendant now moves to exclude the estimate and testimony of
Plaintiffs’ expert Steve Hitchcock.

Defendant points to several

perceived deficiencies that render the report inadmissible under
the principles of Daubert and its progeny.
The motion is DENIED.

This matter will be tried to the Court

sitting without a jury and the alleged deficiencies can be
explored via cross examination with the result going to the weight
of Hitchcock’s testimony.

The potential prejudice of having a

jury give undue weight to the testimony of an “expert” whose
testimony might ultimately be entitled to little or no weight is
simply not present in this case.

Further, the Court is persuaded

that the question of whether the repair estimate is relevant given
that repairs have been completed should first be governed by the
terms of the policy itself, as opposed to decisions reached in
other cases that may or may not be analogous to the facts of this
particular case.
Accordingly, and for the foregoing reasons;
IT IS ORDERED that the Motion to Exclude the Estimate and
Testimony of Steve Hitchcock (Rec. Doc. 18) filed by defendant The
Standard Fire Insurance Co. is DENIED.
March 1, 2012
JAY C. ZAINEY
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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