One of the main assets of Coram Healthcare Corp. (“Coram”) in its bankruptcy proceedings was a derivative claim it held as a result of a conflict of interest by its former CEO. The Equity Committee presented expert testimony on the purported size of the damage claim that Coram would have if it were to prevail in that litigation. The Trustee for Coram hired NERA to support a plan of reorganization that could have been undermined by the analysis by the Equity Committee’s damage expert.

NERA helped prepare questions for deposition to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the Equity Committee’s expert’s analysis. When the expert for the Equity Committee testified at the bankruptcy hearing, he explained that he had made two changes since his deposition. NERA Vice President Dr. David Tabak provided rebuttal testimony showing that one of the changes was methodologically unsound and that the expert for the Equity Committee was not informed of data and methodological changes made by his staff. The Equity Committee had no questions for Dr. Tabak on cross examination and Delaware Bankruptcy Court judge Mary F. Walrath stated that Dr. Tabak “has certainly called into question some of [the Equity Committee’s damage expert’s] conclusions” and that she “would consider [the Equity Committee’s damage expert’s conclusions] in that light.”

On 5 October 2004, Judge Walrath issued an opinion confirming the Trustee’s plan subject to certain modifications. She also found that “the Equity Committee’s damage expert was not credible.”