- 27 - the Court understand an area requiring specialized training, knowledge, or judgment. Fed. R. Evid. 702; Snyder v. Commissioner, 93 T.C. 529, 534 (1989). The Court, however, is not bound by an expert's opinion. We weigh an expert's testimony in light of his or her qualifications, and with respect to all credible evidence in the record. Depending on what we believe is appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the case, we may either reject an expert's opinion in its entirety, accept it in its entirety, or accept selective portions of it. Helvering v. National Grocery Co., 304 U.S. 282, 294-295 (1938); Seagate Technology, Inc. & consol. Subs. v. Commissioner, 102 T.C. 149, 186 (1994); Parker v. Commissioner, 86 T.C. 547, 562 (1986). Petitioner's expert is Paul R. Dorf, managing director of Compensation Resources, Inc., of Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Respondent's expert is E. James Brennan III, president of Brennan, Thomsen Associates, Inc., of Chesterfield, Missouri. Mr. Brennan is no stranger to this Court, having testified before us on no fewer than 13 prior occasions. See Alondra Indus. Ltd. v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1996-32; Guy Schoenecker, Inc. v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1995-539; Mad Auto Wrecking, Inc. v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1995-153, and the cases cited therein. We are not persuaded by either of the experts. Mr. Dorf's testimony was unconvincing because it did not directly address the factor at hand; i.e., the prevailing rates of compensationPage: Previous 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011