Cascade Designs, Inc. - Page 26




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               Expert Witness Reports                                                 
               Cascade submitted an expert witness report that analyzed the           
          contract terms and amounts paid Lea and concluded that the 1982             
          agreement was reasonable.  Respondent submitted an expert witness           
          report to rebut the conclusions of Cascade's expert witness.                
               Expert witness testimony is appropriate to help the Court              
          understand an area requiring specialized training, knowledge, or            
          judgment.  See 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.  See Helvering v. National                 
          Grocery Co., 304 U.S. 282, 294-295 (1938); Seagate Tech., Inc. &            
          Consol. Subs. v. Commissioner, 102 T.C. 149, 186 (1994).                    
               Cascade's expert witness identified guideline transactions             
          comparable to the one between Cascade and Lea.  Comparability of            
          the transactions was determined by either similarity of product,            
          similarity of manufacturing process, similarity of markets, or              
          similarity of components and/or technology.  In these guideline             
          transactions, the amounts paid for the patent or process range              
          from 1 to 7 percent of sales, and the mode is 5 percent.                    






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Last modified: May 25, 2011