J. Stephen Van Heyde is a lawyer with Baker & Hostetler LLP in Columbus, OH. As legal counsel for the American Measuring Tool Manufacturers Association (AMTMA) he recently gave a presentation at that group’s spring meeting, held March 6 to 8 in Phoenix. The speech dealt with the language used in calibration reports. He focused on the idea that while the measurements referred to in typical calibration reports might be quite precise, the language used in the reports was often quite the opposite. This disparity could create misunderstandings which, in the hands of a competent litigator, could come back to haunt those who issued the report.
Playing devil’s advocate,Van Heyde took various words and phrases commonly found in calibration reports and explained how a lawyer could interpret them. I don’t mean he twisted the words to something that no longer resembles reality. The words he used reflected the legal reality.