Expert Testimony on Inadequate Construction Techniques Excluded
Posted on December 26, 2025 by Expert Witness Profiler
This action concerns whether the construction of a condominium building damaged the townhouses on an adjacent property owned by the Plaintiff, Charles Matiella.
Plaintiff alleged causes of action for negligence and trespass against the owner of the adjacent property, Murdock Street, LLC; the two companies who operated as the general contractor and developer for the construction of the condominium building, EWORA, LLC, and IFG Group, LLC; and two subcontractors, City Concrete Corporation and Luis Construction, Inc.
Defendants joined in a motion to exclude the testimony and opinions of Plaintiff’s single expert, Timothy G. Galarnyk.
Construction Expert Witness
Timothy Gerard Galarnyk is CEO of Construction Risk Management Inc. (CRM). Galarnyk has over 30 years of education, training, and field experience in construction and construction risk management. He has traveled the world promoting construction-risk initiatives, injury and fatality prevention, and investigation of these events for legal adjudication.
Discussion by the Court
The Court found that, although Galarnyk was qualified to offer expert testimony, his testimony and opinions were nonetheless inadmissible, principally because he had not established that they were reliable under the standard of Daubert.
Additionally, some opinions were also inadmissible because they constituted legal conclusions or would be unhelpful to the triers of fact. In short, the Court excluded Galarnyk from providing opinions or testifying at trial.
Held
The Court granted Defendants’ motion to exclude Timothy Galarnyk from providing opinions or testifying at trial.
Key Takeaway
Galarnyk clearly relied on “his years of experience—or, perhaps, experience along with training and education—in construction and related fields” to form his opinion, but he “failed to explain how that experience, training, and education ‘lead to the conclusion reached, why they are a sufficient basis for the opinion, and how they are reliably applied to the facts.'”
Case Details:
| Case Caption: | Matiella V. Murdock Street LLC |
| Docket Number: | 1:21cv2112 |
| Court Name: | United States District Court, District of Columbia |
| Order Date: | December 10, 2025 |
