Distinguish liability from the amount of loss
Even if breach or wrongdoing is alleged, the loss and its causal connection must still be proven. A financial opinion does not establish liability; it assists professional analysis of the data and amount.
When is an opinion considered?
- Lost profits or future income.
- Business, operation, or intangible-asset value.
- Complex ledgers, payments, and accounting systems.
- Completion, repair, or replacement costs over time.
- Comparison of actual and alleged counterfactual scenarios.
Not every claim requires an expert. An agreement, invoice, and payment record may prove the amount. Scope should match complexity and value.
Assumptions matter as much as formulas
A mathematically correct calculation may rely on an unproven factual assumption. Review the period, growth rate, saved expense, external events, mitigation, and comparison data.
Preserve the raw data. Supplying only material selected to support one result may reduce the weight of the conclusions.
When should work begin?
Identify technical questions early. A late opinion may expose unavailable data or inconsistency between the pleadings and calculation. Conversely, do not commission costly work before defining the questions.
How does the defense respond?
Review qualifications, data sources, assumptions, consistency, and causation. Depending on the case, consider a responsive opinion, clarification questions, examination, or an argument that ordinary documents resolve the issue.
Concluding point
An effective opinion begins with a defined factual and legal question. The expert analyzes data; counsel connects it to the cause of action, evidence, and relief.
This is general information, not legal, accounting, or financial advice.
Principal legal sources
- Evidence Ordinance [New Version], 5731-1971.
- Civil Procedure Regulations, 5779-2018.
- Contracts (Remedies for Breach of Contract) Law, 5731-1970.