Dubious Assumptions, Economic Models, and Expert Testimony

Courts expect plaintiffs in complex litigation to prove damages through sophisticated economic models using techniques like regression analysis. Courts in the Daubert era also scrutinize the assumptions underlying those models and sometimes exclude expert testimony because of dubious assumptions. Through academic commentary and a survey of cases, this article describes the assumptions underlying economic models, identifies three types of assumptions courts find problematic, and clarifies the legal grounds and rationales courts use in declining to admit expert testimony based on such models