Dr. Michael T Motley
Davis, CA 95616
Dr. Motley is a Professor of Communication, specializing in message analysis. He provides opinions on the relative clarity and likely interpretations of warning labels, instructions, contracts, waivers, packaging, advertisements, and so forth. For example, suppose Mr. Smith gets injured using a product, sues, and the defense denies liability because he did not heed warnings that accompanied the instructions. Either side might want an expert opinion on the relative clarity of the warning and instructions. Other examples are available on his web site. Depending on the nature of the case, Dr. Motley can sometimes support his opinions with empirical data.
- Advertising
- Behavioral Science
- Communications
- Labels & Warnings
- Psychology
- Q: Please list your professional accreditations, degrees, licenses, and certificates granted:
- A: EDUCATION:
- M.A., Communication, University of Texas at Austin
- Ph.D., Communication & Psycholinguistics, Pennsylvania State University
AWARDS:
- Top 1% of Scholars in Communication (multiple)
- Top Article, Paper, etc. (multiple) - Q: Please list your affiliations or memberships in any professional and/or industry organizations:
- A: - National Communication Association
- Western States Communication Association - Q: Please list any teaching or speaking experience you have had, including subject matter:
- A: Taught at major U.S. Universities since 1970.
- Q: Have any of your accreditations ever been investigated, suspended or removed? (if yes, explain)
- A: No
- Q: On how many occasions have you been retained as an expert?
- A: Sixty-eight
- Q: For what area(s) of expertise have you been retained as an expert?
- A: Communication; message analysis; clarity and/or meaning interpretation of warning labels, contracts, liability clauses, advertising, etc.; date rape; adequacy of class action notice; etc.
- Q: In what percentage of your cases were you retained by the plaintiff?
- A: 74%
- Q: In what percentage of your cases were you retained by the defendant?
- A: 26%
- Q: On how many occasions have you had your deposition taken?
- A: Eighteen
- Q: When was the last time you had your deposition taken?
- A: December 2020
- Q: On how many occasions have you been qualified by a court to give expert testimony?
- A: Four
- Q: On how many occasions have you testified as an expert in court or before an arbitrator?
- A: Four
- Q: For how many years have you worked with the legal industry as an expert?
- A: Thirty-five
- Q: What services do you offer? (E.g.: consulting, testing, reports, site inspections etc.)
- A: - Review of documents to render opinion on adequacy, clarity, ambiguity, likely interpretation, meaning, etc. of written or spoken messages.
- Empirical testing of opinion when claiming that target message is inadequate or unclear - Q: What is your hourly rate to consult with an attorney?
- A: $400
- Q: What is your hourly rate to review documents?
- A: $400
- Q: What is your hourly rate to provide deposition testimony?
- A: $500
- Q: What is your hourly rate to provide testimony at trial?
- A: $500
- Q: Please list any fees other than those stated above (E.g.: travel expenses, copy fees, etc.)
- A: Travel: < 30 min. one way -- $0; > 30 min. one way -- $50/hr. portal-to-portal (minus deposition, testimony, consultation fees; plus travel expenses)
Multiple references available upon request.