How Valuable Is a Team of Experts?
In Dedham Water Company v. Cumberland Farms Dairy, Inc., the Dedham Water Company sued Cumberland Farms for contamination of drinking water supply wells with solvents such as trichloroethylene (TCE) and 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA). Admittedly, chlorinated solvents were used at Cumberland Farms which was upgradient of the water supply wells, and housekeeping at the facility was not considered impeccable. Chlorinated solvents were most likely released at the site. Based on hydrogeology alone, the plaintiff had an apparent open-and-shut case. However, many environmental investigations or litigations can benefit from the interaction of several experts in different overlapping technical fields. In this case, the defense assembled a team of experts to prepare its technical case. The team consisted of a hydrogeologist, civil engineer, environmental engineer, chemist, and sewer engineer. The facts were viewed from different technical perspectives with each discipline offering its opinion as to
