Other banks defending class actions over penalty fees will want to take notice of the Federal Court's preference for the expert evidence of the plaintiffs' consultant, Paul Regan, of the Californian accounting firm Hemming Morse.The judge, Michelle Gordon, found the analysis by Will Inglis, forensic accountant (and former Deloitte partner) to be less helpful."The parties adopted fundamentally different approaches. They were like ships passing in the night."Gordon expressed irritation with the quality of Inglis' analysis."He improperly included provision and regulatory capital costs [when] no provision or regulatory capital costs were in fact incurred.""In fact, Inglis did not seek to calculate loss or damage. Instead, he was asked to (and did) engage in a broad-ranging exercise of identifying 'costs' in a theoretical accounting sense that might be affected by an exception fee event."Between 2006 and 2013, ANZ bank customer Lucio Paciocco was charged A$23 for late payments on 17 occasions. Inglis estimated the cost to the bank of these late payment events might have ranged between $1.02 and $1748.93. However, Gordon found that each of the late payment events cost ANZ between 50 cents and $3.50.Between 2010 and 2013, Paciocco incurred fees for making late payments nine times on another account. He was charged a fee of $27 on each occasion. Inglis' methodology suggested that the costs incurred by the bank on these events fell within a range of 98 cents and $365.60.The judge found the bank suffered loss and damage of only 50 cents for six of these late payments.In a critique of Regan's work, which was commissioned by ANZ from a Dr Finch, the judge described the work as "inappropriate and unnecessary".And a further report, from an economist, a Dr Jenkins, the judge said was "was vague and generalised". She said that "such evidence does not assist the court."