--- title: "Construction Expert Allowed to Opine on the Cause of the Leak" meta: "og:description": "The construction expert was allowed to testify about the source of the damage because he has sufficient experience conducting plumbing investigations" "og:title": "Construction Expert Allowed to Opine on the Cause of the Leak" author: "Expert Witness Profiler" description: "The construction expert was allowed to testify about the source of the damage because he has sufficient experience conducting plumbing investigations" --- # Construction Expert Allowed to Opine on the Cause of the Leak Posted on July 1, 2026 by Expert Witness Profiler This is a subrogation action resulting from a water loss that occurred in January of 2021 at a single family home located in Cranston, Rhode Island. Defendant filed a motion to prevent one of Plaintiff’s experts— [Thomas F. Zarek](https://expertwitnessprofiler.com/expert-witness/Thomas-Zarek/1558226)—from testifying as to the source of the damage at trial. ## **Construction Expert Witness** [Thomas F. Zarek](https://expertwitnessprofiler.com/expert-witness/Thomas-Zarek/1558226) has significant experience in the construction and remodeling of homes and commercial businesses. Zarek has been responsible for a variety of forensic engineering assignments, on average between 200 and 300 assignments per year. These have comprised not only heating system failures, but freeze loss examinations, piping and plumbing systems, water and wastewater distribution systems, fire investigation, and failures of commercial and residential systems. [Get the full story on challenges to Thomas Zarek’s expert opinions and testimony with an in-depth Challenge Study](https://expertwitnessprofiler.com/order/add?eId=1558226&pId=3). ## **Discussion by the Court** Defendant argued that: (1) Zarek did not have the relevant plumbing experience to determine whether Defendant’s actions caused the leak; and (2) he did not understand how a fuel usage analysis works, and has not conducted one himself, even though he relied on one in his report. Here, Defendant failed to show that Zarek is either unqualified as a plumbing expert or that the materials that he relied on in forming his opinion are unreliable. As his CV indicates, Zarek possesses decades of relevant experience conducting plumbing investigations. Additionally, as Plaintiff pointed out, Zarek’s alleged inability to understand how the formula underlying a fuel usage analysis is calculated does not relate to whether he improperly relied on this information in reaching his conclusion. Separately, the Court acknowledged that Plaintiff asked Zarek to conduct a subsequent report after he performed an earlier, inconsistent one during this litigation. While Zarek’s original report noted that the freezing weather might have caused damage to the plumbing here, his updated report ruled this out as a potential option. As with Zarek’s knowledge of the source material underlying his expert report, Defendant can remedy this issue on cross-examination and by impeaching Zarek with his prior report, rather than seeking its exclusion altogether. ## **Held** The Court denied without prejudice Defendant's _[Daubert](https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/daubert_standard)_ motion _in limine_ to prevent Thomas Zarek from testifying about the cause of the leak. ## **Key Takeaway** Zarek’s alleged inability to understand how the formula underlying a fuel usage analysis is calculated does not relate to whether he improperly relied on this information in reaching his conclusion. 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