11th Circuit Upholds Toss of Expert Testimony in Lockheed Toxic Waste Case
The 11th Circuit upheld exclusion of chemical testing and risk assessment expert testimony in Lockheed Martin toxic waste suits.
Why it matters: This ruling clarifies expert evidence standards in environmental torts, critical for GCs and environmental lawyers defending or prosecuting complex contamination claims.
- 11th Circuit affirmed exclusion of expert reports on July 28, 2026, in case No. 21-xxxx.
- Experts' chemical testing and risk assessment reports were excluded for failing to follow their stated methodologies.
- Judge Jill Pryor remarked experts "didn’t do what they said they were going to do."
- Case involves toxic waste contamination claims against Lockheed Martin at its former facility in Georgia.
On July 28, 2026, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in Suzanna Realty, LLC v. Lockheed Martin Corp. (No. 21-xxxx), affirming the exclusion of key expert testimony in ongoing toxic waste contamination litigation against Lockheed Martin’s former facility in Georgia. The court held that expert witnesses failed to reliably apply their disclosed scientific methodologies in analyzing chemical contaminants, thereby rendering their testimony inadmissible.
Specifically, the experts provided chemical testing analyses and human health risk assessments that the trial court found deviated from their predetermined protocols. Judge Jill Pryor, writing for the panel, emphasized that the experts “didn’t do what they said they were going to do,” reinforcing strict standards for expert testimony under Daubert and Federal Rule of Evidence 702 in environmental tort cases.
The court did not disclose the identities of the excluded experts or granular details of their methodologies, limiting public insight into the precise evidentiary failures. However, the ruling signals courts’ insistence on rigorous adherence to scientific standards for expert reports in complex contamination suits.
Environmental lawyers and general counsel involved in toxic tort litigation should take note: this decision stresses the importance of methodical consistency and thorough expert vetting early in litigation to withstand exclusion challenges. Defense strategies against major contractors like Lockheed Martin may increasingly rely on attacking the procedural soundness of expert evidence.
For further details, review coverage from Courthouse News and the Law360 article analyzing the ruling.
By the numbers:
- July 28, 2026 — date of 11th Circuit ruling
- 21-xxxx — docket number for case Suzanna Realty, LLC v. Lockheed Martin
- 3 — judges on the appellate panel, including Judge Jill Pryor