Can a Malaysian Court Reject an Unopposed Expert Opinion? When a legal dispute involves complex technical, medical, or financial data, parties often rely on expert witnesses. A common misconception in Malaysian litigation is that if one party provides an expert opinion and the opposing side fails to challenge it with their own expert, the judge must accept it as fact. However, the Malaysian judiciary has firmly established that unopposed expert evidence is not automatically binding . The court remains the ultimate finder of fact. The Ultimate Authority: The Court as the Final Arbiter In the landmark case of Duta Nilai Holdings Sdn Bhd v. Ismail Othman & Ors [2026] 4 MLRA 1 , the Court of Appeal clarified the boundaries of expert testimony. The Appellant argued that because their expert’s opinion was unopposed, the trial judge was legally required to accept it. The Court of Appeal rejected this argument, stating: "The Appellant’s case rests on the proposition that an unopposed ...
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