GM Motion to Quash Expert AHRA Testimony ‘Wholly Without Merit,’ Says AARC

The General Motors motion to quash the opinion of an expert witness for the Alliance of Artists and Recording Companies (AARC) who testified music CDs dubbed onto hard drives of car infotainment systems qualify as “digital audio copied recordings” (DACRs) under the Audio Home Recording Act (AHRA) (see 1712010028) is “wholly without merit,” said AARC in a Friday memorandum (in Pacer). Testimony of Gareth Loy runs “afoul of virtually every principle” under Daubert for admissibility of expert testimony in federal courts, said GM’s motion. Trial judges use the standard to decide whether testimony is scientifically valid. GM’s assertion Loy’s testimony “is deficient because it does not rely on scholarly literature or replicable experiments is unsupportable,” said AARC. “The law is clear that an expert can rely on his or her experience and training as a basis for the expert’s opinion.” Loy’s testimony “is based on his expertise as a computer scientist and engineer, not as a ‘legal expert,’" as GM argued, said AARC. GM’s claim Loy lacked “special insight” about AHRA requirements “is misleading as that was not the substance” of testimony, it said. “GM’s selective use of quotes from various Daubert cases is of no import given that the proffered expert testimony here bears no resemblance to the testimony stricken or limited in those cases.”