Douglas v. Ostermeier

In Douglas v. Ostermeier (1991) 1 Cal.App.4th 729, the trial court allowed plaintiff Patricia Douglas to testify as an expert regarding the value of defendants' commercial property for the purpose of assessing punitive damages. (Douglas, supra, 1 Cal.App.4th at p. 737.) In finding no abuse of discretion, the appellate court observed the fact that Douglas "had an interest in the outcome of the suit was no doubt not lost on the jury." In addition, the trial court had properly instructed the jury regarding its role to determine the weight or value of Douglas's opinion. (Id. at p. 739.) Thus, the fact of bias goes to the weight to be accorded the opinion, not its admissibility.