Fers et métaux américains, s.e.c. v. Picard, 2015 QCCS 2366
Even if an expert makes certain inappropriate comments, and his report includes certain omissions for which he could be criticized, this is not sufficient to automatically disqualify the expert or to consider him biased.
The Plaintiff, Fers et métaux américains, s.e.c., presented a motion to disqualify investigative forensic accounting expert, Philip C. Levi. The Plaintiff claimed that Mr. Levi had not been impartial, and that he had made inappropriate comments, showing animosity towards the Plaintiff and its attorneys. In fact, Mr. Levi mentioned that “Plaintiffs’ lawyer is going to have his ass kicked in court,” and that “Plaintiffs’ lawyer will be dressed down in court.” Mr. Levi maintained that his comments should not be taken out of context and that he only said this to show his dissatisfaction with the Plaintiff’s manner of doing things, in refusing to identify the documents forming part of Exhibit P-12. The Court concluded that these comments were not appropriate, but that they alone were not sufficient to disqualify the expert.
