Our Experts can assist in litigation support, providing expert reports, expert testimony, and strategic planning for success
Our Experts can assist in litigation support, providing expert reports, expert testimony, and strategic planning for success
Vista Consulting is led by Dr. John N. O’Brien who has excelled in numerous areas in regulation, finance, legal analysis, and the application of economic tools in addressing the needs of client management. After receiving his BA in Chemistry and MA and PhD in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences he spent a decade as a Full Scientist at the DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in its Department of Nuclear Energy. He taught college chemistry for 15 years, and is currently a Professor of Public Administration teaching graduate courses in Economics and in Organization Theory. Early in his career after his work as a federal scientist, he successfully founded, grew and divested several significant US energy firms. Dr. O'Brien also served as a Commissioner on the Florida Energy Commission and was a Chair of the Commission's Climate Change Subcommittee.
The Vista Consulting Group has been assisting clients since 2004. The Vista Consulting network of high-level experts works together closely and integrates seamlessly to address your needs. During that time, we have assisted in providing expert witness litigation support for numerous clients in both state and federal courts as well as regulatory proceedings. We have also advised clients on strategic goals in the energy markets as the energy markets are changing and continue to evolve. Our highly skilled network of experts has worked together on assignments for major energy clients for many years. We represent the best-of-breed expertise including regulatory matters, engineering proficiency, deep knowledge of market operations, and high levels of strategic knowledge. We pride ourselves in producing highly developed professional reports, testimony and presentations for our clients.
Our firm has top scientific, market and engineering talent in our standing expert network. We have a strong record of providing litigation support for top national law firms including Arnold & Porter, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, Labaton Sucharow, Hagens Berman, and Levi & Korsinsky, among others. We have provided detailed analyses of important issues in litigation for a number of other firms as well. For instance, our firm successfully concluded an engagement with Rogers, Patrick, Westbrook & Brickman, LLC to provide expert witness services that resulted in over $2.5 billion in settlements with major electric utility companies.[1] We also provided expert services to Cotchett, Pitre and McCarthy including calculation of damages and providing deposition and courtroom testimony in a case in which the State of California was litigating against BP America for overcharges for natural gas purchases. In that case, our efforts supported the securing of a $102 million settlement.[2] We have been engaged to provide litigation support in a class-action securities fraud cases against Exxon-Mobil[3], Southern Companies[4], and Energy Solutions[5] among other large, publicly-traded corporate entities.
We are capable of providing full and competent expert reports and testimony in litigation actions. These reports can categorically show the pattern of facts that support our client’s arguments. Our report will also satisfy all of the requirements and objections that can be raised in the Daubert and Frye Motions to Exclude that will ultimately be filed by opposing counsel to strike the evidence that we provide. We have provided testimony and have successfully defeated Motions to Exclude. We have been deposed a number of times and testified in Court having been certified as experts competent to discuss energy economic issues.[6] Our experts have never been excluded in any litigation.
We look forward to discussing our services with you at an appropriate time. Please advise us of your interest in speaking. We will be happy to visit your offices if appropriate (conditioned of course on current travel circumstances). Thank you for considering our subject matter expert and expert witness services.
[1] Cook et al v. South Carolina Public Service Authority, State of South Carolina, County of Hampton, Court of Common Pleas, Fourteenth Judicial District. Case No. 2017-CP-25-348; Lightsey et al v. South Carolina Electric and Gas Company, A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of SCANA, State of South Carolina, County of Hampton, Court of Common Pleas, Fourteenth Judicial District. Case No. 2017-CP-25-335
[2] State of California, et al v. BP America, et al, Superior Court of the State of California, CGC-12-522063
[3] Ramirez v. Exxon-Mobil, Case No. 3:16-cv-03111 NDTX
[4] Monroe County Employees’ Retirement System et al v Southern Companies et al, 1:17-cv-241 NDGA
[5] Building Trades United Pension Trust Fund et al v. EnergySolutions, Inc. et al, 1:09-cv-08648, SDNY
[6] For example, A Motion to Exclude was denied in Wave Length Hair Salons Of Florida D/B/A Salon Adrian et al v. CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. et al, 2:16-cv-00206 MDFL. Similarly, in America's CNG, LLC V. City Of Lake City, In The Circuit Court Of The Third Judicial Circuit, In And For Columbia County, Florida, Case No.: 15-511ca, Defendant’s Motion To Limit, Strike Or Restrict Testimony Of John O’Brien, July 5, 2017. Motion was Denied.
The energy markets are changing very rapidly due in large part to concerns about the environment and the economy. The effects that climate change is having on our economy and our society are growing rapidly. Our experts have been working in the energy field for many decades and have a clear perspective on the many current and future energy-related business challenges facing the business community today. Our wide-ranging perspective includes (1) a comprehensive understanding of the history, development and utilization of the existing energy assets, regulations, and infrastructure, as well as how it all functions; (2) the contemporary and future concerns that are driving the changes to public opinion, regulation, economics and finance in the energy space and (3) the emerging technologies that are available and under development to address our client’s changing needs and strategic planning.
There has been a strong drive toward the implementation of a new understanding of business and corporate responsibility embraced in the notions of “Environment, Social and Corporate Governance” or “ESG”. Research has shown that intangible assets, such as a strong awareness and focus on ESG concerns, comprise an increasing element of a business’s future enterprise value. Investors are increasingly applying these non-financial factors as part of their analytical processes to identify material risks and growth opportunities. Our experts are highly aware of the nuances and requirements that adopting an ESG business philosophy requires as the concept has moved from being a aspirational goal to being a requirement now monitored by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Our experts are well aware of the constraints, as well as possibilities, for management to consider in this tectonic shift in business philosophy. Energy issues have been and will always be dominated by regulatory, financial and economic considerations all of which are now subject to ESG objectives.We are well versed in the technical, economic and regulatory aspects of decarbonization and the details of social cost of carbon calculations. The emerging central concerns related to climate change are changing the energy markets. Navigation of this new corporate philosophy has great importance in today’s business environment.
The network of Vista Consulting Group senior experts constitutes some of the highest-qualified and most-experienced experts in the energy arena -- not trainees or associates. We have a clear and unique set of abilities and assets in a number of very important energy-related areas including deep analytical skills, energy regulation, business processes, energy-related economics, finance, markets, and current, emergent, and transformative energy technologies. We are a network-based consulting firm bringing on only those exact skills and expert individuals that are needed to support our clients’ particular issues to deliver a superior result in a uniquely cost-effective manner.
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