I am looking for an independent transmission consultant who is knowledgeable with Honda transmissions to assist me in a court case.

More information, please. What year and model? What information are you looking for? What is the court case regarding?

It is a 1998 Honda CR-V. I had the front axle replaced and it was not seated correctly and the clip came off. Apparently from either the clip getting into some part of the transmission or due to the loss of fluid causing the fiber disk to burn causing too much clutch pack clearance the transmission failed. I took this to small claims court but lost due to my mechanic having 2 witnesses saying this could not happen. Unfortunately, not being very mechanical I was unable to argue the case. The judge ruled in their favor mainly based upon what he said was that they had witnesses to testify and ask questions (even though one sold him parts and the other worked for him) and that if I had witnesses or testimony it may have been different. I have spoken with several people at Honda shops and online forums and understand that the improper installation of the axle could definitely have caused the problem. It was argued that the clip coming off could not have gotten into the transmission department due to a wall separating the differential and transmission. I was told that this was hypothetical and with the heat build up from loss of transmission fluid that anything was possible. I am trying to decide whether to appeal this case (which I only have until Nov 7 to do) or just drop the case. It was a very expensive repair (over $2000) and I have no doubt it was caused by the axle replacement as I had no problems before this. I am looking for an unbiased witness who has knowledge of transmission workings to help me with this.
Thanks for your reply

Unfortunately, appealing a case is very difficult and you're going to need an attorney to do so.

Which clip are you referring to when you say that it detached? Are you referring to the snap ring on the axle shaft?

How many miles did you put on the vehicle before the transmission failed? Did someone diagnose what caused the trans to fail or has no one looked at it? Where was the fluid leaking from?

Yes, it was the snap ring on the axle shaft. Have about 140K mileage. No problems with trans before axle. Guess it did not seat properly but not sure where it was leaking from. The transmission shop diagnosed the problem but my mechanice said there was no way the ring could have gotten from where it was in the differential into the transmision due to the design or barrer? Between the two. Another person told me that this was just hypothetical and with the heat build up due to fluid loss that the clip and other conditions could cause the problem.
I appreciate your feedback and anything u can add would help.\\

Thanks

If the snap ring was bad on the axle shaft, it may have caused the shaft to start moving around and possibly ogling out the output shaft seal, which would definitely cause a fluid leak. If you ran the transmission out of fluid and continued to drive it, then that would absolutely cause damage to the transmission. But if that's the case, you would have noticed something wrong with the transmission before it was completely damaged.

If you continued to drive it without fluid, that's not really the mechanic's fault. While the shaft may have caused the initial problem, it didn't make the transmission go bad; driving it without fluid did.

When you say you had the front axle replaced, are you referring to the entire front axle or did you only have the axle shaft replaced?