What is the test for using expert opinion at trial?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Panghali v. Panghali, 2014 BCSC 647 (CanLII):

In considering the expert evidence I bear in mind the comments of Dickson J. in Lewis v. Todd, 1980 CanLII 20 (SCC), [1980] 2 S.C.R. 694 at 708, regarding the use of expert opinion evidence: “The evidence of actuaries and economists is of value in arriving at a fair and just result. … But the trial judge, who is required to make the decision, must be accorded a large measure of freedom in dealing with the evidence presented by the experts.” Where the economist’s figures result in an award which seems inordinately low in the circumstances, the judge must adjust it upwards, and vice versa.

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