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Court Testimony From Experts @ BEC

Excerpt from Millott v. Reinhard

Negative Contingencies

[216] The parties' experts agreed on the discounts for unemployment (3 per cent) and disability (2 per cent). I accept those figures. The remaining significant negative contingencies are mortality, divorce and remarriage. The experts agreed on the amount of the discounts for those contingencies, but not their application.

[217] While the Plaintiffs spent some effort trying to prove that the Millotts' marriage had virtually no chance of ending in divorce and that Lauretta was unlikely to remarry, such contingencies must, in my view, be considered in the damages claim. While I do find that Millott and Lauretta were happily married, I cannot find there is a zero per cent chance they would have divorced. Statistics for such possibilities as divorce and remarriage are, unfortunately, the fairest and most reasonable way to make the necessary analysis. In addition, a mortality contingency should logically be included. Accordingly, deductions are to be made for divorce, remarriage and mortality. I accept the rates provided by the parties' experts.