Mr. Shefftz is an independent consultant who specializes in the application of financial economics to litigation disputes, regulatory enforcement, and public policy decisions. Previously he was a consultant with Industrial Economics, Incorporated ("IEc") from 1992 until April 2006 when he moved to western Massachusetts. Mr. Shefftz has extensive experience in settlement and litigation support, and has been qualified as an expert witness in Administrative Court and U.S. District Court.
Mr. Shefftz’s recent experience includes work in the following areas.
• Calculating the economic damages suffered by companies and individuals from alleged wrongful actions.
• Applying financial economics to civil penalty factors in regulatory enforcement actions.
• Analyzing economic issues related to public policy decisions.
Mr. Shefftz has performed this work in a variety of contexts, including expert witness testimony, computer model development, training course delivery, and regulatory review, as well as reports and memoranda. He has supervised project teams comprising economists, accountants, paralegals, and software developers, as well as worked in parallel with engineers, scientists, lawyers, and lobbyists. His clients have included federal and state governmental agencies, private litigators, and other private-sector entities.
Mr. Shefftz holds a B.A. magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in Economics and Political Economy from Amherst College, and an M.P.P. degree, with concentrations in Government & Business and Energy & Environmental Policy, from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Mr. Shefftz is a member of the National Association of Forensic Economics, Government Finance Officers Association, Eastern Economics Association, and Western Economics Association International. He also serves as the Vice Chair for the Town of Amherst Planning Board and as a manuscript referee for the Journal of Forensic Economics.
Economic Damages
Breach of Contract
For the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Division and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Mr. Shefftz evaluated timber product companies’ complex damages models for an alleged breach of contract arising from U.S. Forest Service implementation of Congressional legislation.
For the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Division and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Mr. Shefftz evaluated timber product companies’ complex damages models for an alleged breach of contract arising from U.S. Forest Service implementation of Congressional legislation.
Personal Injury
For a private law firm, Mr. Shefftz calculated the economic damages suffered by employees and their households as a result of an industrial accident; he also critiqued the plaintiffs’ income projections, taxation treatments, worklife expectancies, benefit assumptions, and discount rates. On one medical malpractice case, Mr. Shefftz assessed a damages claim premised upon lost business income from health impairments that precluded marketing brownfields remediation; on another, he critiqued a plaintiff’s lost income calculations and recalculated the value of future medical costs.
Groundwater Contamination
For a private landowner, Mr. Shefftz analyzed the diminution in real estate development value from groundwater contamination, projecting the development schedule with the contamination-induced delay vs. the original schedule. For a U.S. territory, Mr. Shefftz estimated the present value of future expenses for a proposed desalination plant to replace contaminated groundwater sources. On a class action lawsuit by property owners he evaluated the defense economist’s statistical analysis of property values; on another class action lawsuit, he assisted with present value calculations for whole-house drinking water treatment systems to replace contaminated well water.
Federal Contract Disputes Act
Mr. Shefftz developed a DOJ computer application to calculate interest accruing on damage claims.
Tortious Interference
For a private law firm, Mr. Shefftz calculated the plaintiff’s lost profits from the defendant’s interference in the business relationship with a joint venture partner; he also calculated the defendant’s unjust enrichment from its actions.
Intellectual Property
For defense counsel in a copyright infringement lawsuit, Mr. Shefftz assessed declarations from the plaintiff’s expert economist who asserted that a "companion" book would damage the author of the original series of novels. He also assisted counsel with preparation for trial cross examination.
Regulatory Enforcement
Financial Statement & Condition Analysis / Ability-to-Pay / Corporate Control & Ownership
Mr. Shefftz has examined the finances of individuals, businesses, municipalities, and not-for-profits to assess ability to pay for environmental expenditures sought by EPA, DOJ, private litigators, and states. He has been qualified as an expert witness in Administrative Court and U.S. District Court.
Financial Gain / Economic Benefit / Unjust Enrichment
Mr. Shefftz has modeled companies’ cash flows under hypothetical timely compliance scenarios vs. actual delayed compliance scenarios to calculate the economic benefit (i.e., financial gain or unjust enrichment) on numerous enforcement actions brought by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Justice (DOJ), private litigators, and state Attorneys General. He has been qualified as an expert witness in both Administrative Court and U.S. District Court.
Computer Model Development, Training, and Support
Mr. Shefftz has managed the development of the current versions of the BEN, PROJECT, ABEL, INDIPAY, and MUNIPAY computer models that EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance applies to financial economics issues in enforcement actions. He has prepared the models’ help systems and training materials, as well as presented training courses and provided related support for federal and state enforcement staff.
Public Policy
Cost of Capital Estimation
Mr. Shefftz assessed peer reviewer comments and then revised a draft report on cost of capital estimation for water systems. His work included applying the capital asset pricing model to the commercial drinking water industry and correcting for the earlier draft’s assumptions regarding capital structure and industry-level business risk.
Financial Assurance
For a state agency, Mr. Shefftz proposed appropriate inflation forecasts and discount rates, drafted a guidance document, and then developed a stand-alone computer model to calculate the net present value of future remediation costs. For EPA’s Office of Solid Waste, he provided recommendations on discounting future cleanup costs; for the Office of Site Remediation and Enforcement, he created a computer model to assess the combined affordability of financial assurance and cleanup costs. For the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, he created a spreadsheet to calculate Trust Fund amounts and reviewed other agencies’ approaches.
Joint Cost Allocation
For a study of Bureau of Reclamation rate setting for California’s Central Valley Project, Mr. Shefftz researched economically efficient methods for allocating water project costs to user classes.
Proposed Legislation
For an industry association, Mr. Shefftz designed and implemented a survey and analyzed its results to predict the impacts of a proposed national lead tax upon lead consumption and dependent industrial sectors. For a national waste management firm, he analyzed the financial impacts of a proposed state tax on hazardous waste land disposal.
Superfund Impacts
Mr. Shefftz examined the Department of Energy SURE model’s predictions of economic impacts from Superfund liability and cost allocation reform. At a Superfund site, he critiqued a small city’s claims that a proposed contaminated soil cleanup would lead to widespread economic disruptions.
Legislative Review
For the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments, Mr. Shefftz investigated the potential of fuel oxygenation requirements to cause petroleum refinery closures. For the Safe Drinking Water Act, he reviewed EPA’s national-level drinking water affordability criteria, assessed their implications for small water systems’ finances, proposed alternative criteria, created databases to predict how many systems would be judged unable to afford drinking water rules, and evaluated public comments.
Publications and Presentations
Net Discount Rates: Does Duration Matter?, discussant for paper presentation at Eastern Economics Association Annual Conference (Boston MA), March 7, 2008.
Enforcement Economics: Deterrence, Economic Benefit, & Ability to Pay, presentation at California Environmental Protection Agency State Water Resources Control Board "Enforcenomics" Workshop (Berkeley CA), January 11, 2008.
Alternative Focuses for "But-For" Scenario Specification in Commercial Litigation, presentation at Western Economics Association International (Seattle WA), June 30, 2007.
Expert Witness Role Play, presentation at U.S. EPA 9th Financial Analyst Workshop (Atlanta GA), May 3, 2007.
Working with Experts in Environmental Cases: An Expert Economist’s Perspective on Expert Testimony, presentation at Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (Eugene OR), March 2, 2007.
Alternative Measures and Focuses for Economic Damages Calculations, presentation at Eastern Economics Association Annual Conference (New York NY), February 23, 2007.
Lost Profit as a Measure of Lost Earning Capacity, panel discussion at Western Economics Association International Annual Conference (San Francisco CA), July 7, 2005.
"EPA’s Economic Benefit Analysis Policy and Practice," Natural Resources and Environment, Fall 2004.
"Taxation Considerations in Economic Damages Calculations," Litigation Economics Review, Summer 2004.
Economic Benefit and Wrongful Profits in the Calculation of Penalties for Environmental Violations, presentation to Boston Bar Association Environmental Litigation Committee, September 23, 2004.
Business Valuation / Commercial Damages, panel discussion at Western Economics Association International Annual Conference (Vancouver BC), July 1, 2004.
"Wrongful Profits: Setting the Record, and the Concept, Straight," Environment Reporter, January 2, 2004.
Present Value Sensitivity to Ex Ante vs. Ex Post Perspective, presentation at Western Economics Association International Annual Conference (Denver CO), July 12, 2003.
Taxation Considerations in Economic Damages Calculations, presentation at Eastern Economics Association Annual Conference (New York NY), February 22, 2003.
Economic Benefit from Illegal Competitive Advantage and Complex Economic Benefit Scenarios, presentation at U.S. EPA 5th Financial Analyst Workshop (Boston MA), July 26, 2000.
Economic Benefit in Wetlands Cases: Financial Analysis Issues, presentation at U.S. EPA Wetlands Enforcement Conference (Alexandria VA), March 22, 2000.
Economic Benefit, presentation at U.S. EPA 4th Analyst Workshop (Denver CO), March 10, 1999.
Testimony History
State of Ohio v. The Shelly Holding Company et al. (Franklin County Municipal Court), deposition 7/30/08.
French Heritage, Inc. v. Ethan Allen, Inc. (Connecticut State Court), deposition 6/28-29/06.
Oregon Public Interest Research Group, Diane Heintz, and Rena Taylor v. Pacific Coast Seafoods Company, Pacific Surimi Joint Venture, LLC, Pacific Surimi Co., Inc., and Dulcich Inc. d/b/a Pacific Seafood Group (USDC, Oregon), deposition 4/18/06.
In the matter of Rizing Sun LLC (U.S. EPA Administrative Hearing), courtroom testimony 2/7/06.
State of Ohio v. Container Recyclers, Inc. (Franklin County Municipal Court, Environmental Division), deposition 4/1/05.
In the matter of Vico Construction Corporation and Smith Farm Enterprises (U.S. EPA Administrative Hearing), courtroom testimony 6/20/02 and 10/8/03.
U.S. v. The New Portland Meadows, Inc. (USDC, Oregon), courtroom testimony 5/20/03.
In the matter of Vico Construction Corporation and Amelia Venture Properties (U.S. EPA Administrative Hearing), courtroom testimony 1/14/03.
United States Public Interest Research Group, Stephen E. Crawford, and Charles Fitzgerald v. Heritage Salmon, Inc.; U.S. PIRG et al. v. Stolt Sea Farm, Inc.; U.S. PIRG et al. v. Atlantic Salmon of Maine LLC (USDC, Maine), deposition 6/5/01, courtroom testimony 10/15/02.
U.S. v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc. (USDC, WD Wis.), deposition 4/24/01.
U.S. v. Royal Oak Enterprises, Inc. (USDC, ED Va.), depositions 3/22/00 and 5/19/00.
In the matter of Titan Wheel Corporation of Iowa (U.S. EPA Administrative Hearing), affidavit 11/24/99.
U.S. v. Gulf States Steel, Inc. (USDC, ND Ala.), affidavit 12/30/98, deposition 10/22/99.
U.S. v. Koch Industries, Inc. (USDC, ND Okla. and SD Tex.), depositions 5/24/99 and 6/1/99.
State of Wisconsin v. I-K-I Manufacturing Company, Inc., deposition 4/13/99.
U.S. v. Borden Chemicals & Plastics (USDC, MD La.), deposition 2/5/98.
State of New Hampshire v. Johnson Products, Incorporated, deposition 2/3/98.
In the matter of Ekco/Glaco, Ltd. & EK Management Corporation (U.S. EPA Administrative Hearing), courtroom testimony 8/14/97.
U.S. v. Smithfield Foods, Inc., et al. (USDC, ED Va.), deposition 7/9/97.
U.S. v. Nucor Corporation (USDC, ND Ala.), deposition 6/12/97.
U.S. v. U.S. Metallics, Inc., and Town of Onalaska, Wis. (USDC, WD Wis.), affidavit 10/21/96.
Updated: July 2008
