ST. LOUIS — A federal judge will allow expert testimony from a software developer defending itself in a contract dispute with Penske Trucking Leasing Company.
Judge Rodney Sippel of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri denied Penske's motion to exclude the testimony proffered by Level One Technologies in a July 16 order.
In June 2014, Level One filed a lawsuit against Penske alleging the trucking company breached a service agreement to process payments using Epay, Level One’s proprietary online payment system. While still under the agreement, the software developer claims, Penske developed its own payment system and modeled it off of Level One's software.
Penske Trucking tried to block two of Level One's experts.
Level One presented two experts -- Dr. Craig S. Rosenberg and Robert A. Taylor -- that testified Penske's payment system would have taken another five years to create if they had not used Epay's source code.
Taylor’s opinion states Level One lost profits when Penske stopped using Epay and that the trucking company would’ve renewed its service agreement had it not developed POPS.
Penske argued the witnesses did not use methods that meet reliability standards. Rosenberg relied on a spreadsheet that did not properly estimate the time Level One spent on developing their online payment system.
Penske claimed Rosenberg failed to verify data on a spreadsheet he used to form his opinion, which may have contained information not related to the case. The company also argued Taylor did not explain certain cost estimates and assumed Penske would renew the contract.
“Penske raises many legitimate arguments about the credibility of Dr. Rosenberg’s and Taylor’s opinions and assumptions," Judge Sippel wrote in the order. “However, in borderline circumstances of reliability, it is far better to allow the expert opinion, and if the court remains unconvinced, allow the jury to pass on the evidence.”
United States District Court Eastern District of Missouri Easter Division Case No. 4:14 CV 1305 RWS