NPPE Expert Witness and Dispute Resolution 5

Question 1

An engineer is asked by two competing parties in a dispute to serve as a neutral expert for the same project. The engineer should:

Accepted Answer

Accept if both parties provide written consent and the engineer can remain impartial

Answer

A neutral expert serving both parties can be appropriate if both provide informed written consent and the engineer is confident in their ability to remain impartial.

Question 2

During a deposition, the opposing attorney uses a 'learned treatise' to challenge an expert's opinion. Under Federal Rule of Evidence 803(18), the treatise can be used to:

Accepted Answer

Be read into evidence if the expert acknowledges or it is established as a reliable authority

Answer

FRE 803(18) permits statements from learned treatises to be read into evidence—but not admitted as exhibits—once the authority is established as reliable.

Question 3

An engineer expert witness's compensation arrangement that would most undermine their credibility and potentially violate ethical rules is:

Accepted Answer

A contingency fee tied to the outcome of the litigation

Answer

Contingency fee arrangements for expert witnesses are prohibited under most professional codes and court rules because they compromise objectivity.

Question 4

In a Daubert hearing in US federal court, the judge is evaluating the admissibility of an engineer's expert testimony. The primary purpose of this hearing is to:

Accepted Answer

Assess whether the expert's methodology is scientifically valid and reliably applied

Answer

A Daubert hearing is a gatekeeping proceeding where the judge evaluates whether the expert's methodology is scientifically sound and properly applied to the facts.

Question 5

A dispute resolution clause in a construction contract requires 'stepped' dispute resolution. The correct sequence typically is:

Accepted Answer

Negotiation → Mediation → Arbitration → Litigation

Answer

Stepped dispute resolution escalates from direct negotiation to mediation to arbitration to litigation, exhausting less adversarial options first.

NPPE - National Professional Practice Examination Practice Test

NPPE - National Professional Practice Examination Practice Test

NPPE Expert Witness and Dispute Resolution 5