1st Circuit Reverses Exclusion of Plaintiff Expert Testimony in APL Case

BOSTON -- The 1st Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has reversed a decision to exclude evidence linking benzene exposure to Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia, ruling that the district court had "crossed the boundary between gatekeeper and trier of fact." Milward v. Acuity Specialty Products Group Inc., et al., No. 09-2270 (1st Cir.).

In the March 22 opinion, the 1st Circuit also found that the trial court "misperceived" the methodology and analysis of Dr. Martyn Smith, a plaintiff expert whose testimony was excluded nearly two years ago in a case before the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

"We …