Manion et al v. Ameri-Can Freight Systems Incorporated et al

Filing 119

ORDER granting in part and denying in part 70 Motion for Discovery; granting in part and denying in part 71 Motion for Discovery; denying 72 Motion in Limine. Signed by Judge Dominic W Lanza on 8/16/2019. (TCA)

Download PDF
1 WO 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 8 9 Zandra Manion, et al., Plaintiffs, 10 11 ORDER v. 12 No. CV-17-03262-PHX-DWL Ameri-Can Freight Systems Incorporated, et al., 13 14 Defendants. 15 This case arises from a March 12, 2016 traffic accident that resulted in the death of 16 Johnathan Blyler (“Decedent”). The vehicle that struck Decedent’s vehicle was a tractor- 17 trailer driven by Steven Robertson (“Robertson”), an employee of Ameri-Can Freight 18 Systems, Inc. (together, “Defendants”). The plaintiffs are (1) Decedent’s mother, Zandra 19 Manion, who asserts a wrongful death claim under A.R.S. § 12-611 as a statutory 20 beneficiary of Decedent, and (2) Decedent’s wife, Lisa Blyler, who asserts both a wrongful 21 death claim under A.R.S. § 12-611 in her capacity as a statutory beneficiary and a survival 22 claim under A.R.S. § 13-1440 on behalf of the Decedent’s estate (together, “Plaintiffs”). 23 The Final Pretrial Conference is scheduled for August 26, 2019. (Doc. 91.) In 24 anticipation of trial, the parties have filed three motions to exclude expert opinions. (Docs. 25 70, 71, 72.) Having reviewed those motions and the responses and replies thereto, the 26 Court hereby rules as follows. The parties will be free at the Pretrial Conference to present 27 additional argument concerning any of these rulings and attempt to convince the Court to 28 change its mind. 1 LEGAL STANDARD 2 Federal Rule of Evidence 702 governs the admissibility of expert testimony. “The 3 party offering expert testimony has the burden of establishing its admissibility.” Bldg. 4 Indus. Ass’n of Washington v. Washington State Bldg. Code Council, 683 F.3d 1144, 1154 5 (9th Cir. 2012). As a threshold matter, an expert witness must be qualified “by knowledge, 6 skill, experience, training, or education,” Fed. R. Evid. 702, but “Rule 702 ‘contemplates 7 a broad conception of expert qualifications,’” Hangarter v. Provident Life & Acc. Ins. Co., 8 373 F.3d 998, 1015 (9th Cir. 2004) (citation and emphasis omitted). 9 Under Rule 702, a qualified expert may testify if: “(a) the expert’s scientific, 10 technical, or other specialized knowledge will help the trier of fact to understand the 11 evidence or to determine a fact in issue; (b) the testimony is based on sufficient facts or 12 data; (c) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods; and (d) the expert 13 has reliably applied the principles and methods to the facts of the case.” The Federal Rules 14 of Evidence obligate trial courts to “ensure that any and all scientific testimony or evidence 15 admitted is not only relevant, but reliable.” Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 509 U.S. 16 579, 589 (1993). Rule 702(a) “goes primarily to relevance” and “requires a valid scientific 17 connection to the pertinent inquiry as a precondition to admissibility.” Id. at 591-92. With 18 respect to reliability, “the test under Daubert is not the correctness of the expert’s 19 conclusions but the soundness of his methodology.” Primiano v. Cook, 598 F.3d 558, 564 20 (9th Cir. 2010), as amended (Apr. 27, 2010) (citation omitted). To “assess the reasoning 21 or methodology,” courts should consider “such criteria as testability, publication in peer 22 reviewed literature, and general acceptance, but the inquiry is a flexible one.” Id. Courts 23 should not exclude an expert’s opinion merely because it is “shaky,” because such evidence 24 may “be attacked by cross examination, contrary evidence, and attention to the burden of 25 proof.” Id. See also Fed. R. Evid. 702, advisory committee note to 2000 amendments 26 (“[P]roponents do not have to demonstrate to the judge by a preponderance of the evidence 27 that the assessments of their experts are correct, they only have to demonstrate by a 28 preponderance of evidence that their opinions are reliable. . . . The evidentiary requirement -2- 1 of reliability is lower than the merits standard of correctness.”) (citation and internal 2 quotation marks omitted). 3 4 ANALYSIS I. Defendants’ Motion Regarding Michael Shepston (Doc. 70) 5 Defendants seek to preclude Plaintiffs’ proposed accident reconstruction expert, 6 Michael Shepston (“Shepston”), “specifically as it relates to avoidability analysis, 7 perception time, visibility, avoidability conclusions, vehicle electrical systems and 8 additional factors.” (Doc. 70 at 1.) They argue (1) Shepston “provides opinions outside 9 the scope of his specialized knowledge” and (2) Shepston’s “opinions are not based on any 10 specialized, scientific or technical knowledge and are not based upon reliable evidence.” 11 (Id. at 2, 4.) Although the motion is broadly titled, Defendants clarify in their reply that 12 they “are not disputing the methodology of Shepston as to the [accident] reconstruction or 13 his opinions on the reconstruction itself.” (Doc. 80 at 2.) 14 In response, Plaintiffs contend: (1) “Defendants’ motion attempts to characterize the 15 entirety of Shepston’s opinions as scientific and ignores the information he has provided 16 related to the details of the testing he performed and the information he compiled in arriving 17 at his opinions”; (2) Shepston’s “opinions are based on his knowledge and experience as a 18 professional accident reconstructionist and his extensive experience in performing 19 investigative analysis of crashes”; and (3) “Defendants do not dispute that Shepston is a 20 qualified accident reconstructionist, or assert that his opinions have not been adequately 21 disclosed.” (Doc. 76 at 4-5.) 22 A. 23 As with many of the other pretrial motions in this case, the parties seem to be talking 24 past each other to some extent. In their motion, Defendants did not indicate they were 25 challenging Shepston’s methodology as to the accident reconstruction, and they clarified 26 in their reply that they were not making such a challenge. Thus, Shepston will be permitted 27 to offer opinions regarding accident reconstruction at trial. 28 Accident Reconstruction … -3- 1 B. 2 Defendants seek to exclude “Shepston’s opinions and testimony regarding 3 avoidability, perception time, [Robertson’s] reaction time, and visibility.” (Doc. 70 at 5- 4 6.) They argue (1) “Shepston does not have any scientific basis for his opinions that the 5 area of the collision was well-lit, and visibility was clear or that [Decedent’s] vehicle was 6 visible from one-quarter mile out” and (2) “these opinions are outside of his areas of 7 expertise as he does not have expert qualifications in the areas of visibility to offer an 8 opinion.” (Id. at 6.) Avoidability, Perception Time, Defendant’s Reaction Time, Visibility 9 The Court generally agrees with Defendants. First, because Shepston didn’t identify 10 any methodology in support of his conclusion that “[t]he area of the collision was well-lit, 11 and visibility was clear” (Doc. 70-2 at 9), Shepston will be precluded from testifying as to 12 those opinions at trial. Fed. R. Evid. 702(c) (opinion must be “product of reliable principles 13 and methods”). Notably, Shepston did not explain what it would mean scientifically for 14 an area to be “well-lit” and conceded during his deposition that he did not conduct “any 15 tests to determine luminescence of the area of the accident” or conduct any tests to 16 determine “contrast.” (Doc. 70-4 at 8.) In fact, Shepston’s opinions on this topic appear 17 to be based solely on a statement Robertson made to Arizona Department of Public Safety 18 officers. (Doc. 70-2 at 7.) His testimony will not help the jury understand the evidence. 19 Cameron v. Lowes Home Centers Inc., 2019 WL 2617032, *2 (D. Ariz. 2019) (excluding 20 expert testimony where expert’s “opinion [was] not necessary to help the trier of fact 21 understand [lay witness’s] deposition testimony regarding whether Defendant followed its 22 policies and procedures” because expert’s “opinion d[id] not expound upon [lay witness’s] 23 testimony with principles and references from his experience that support his own 24 conclusion” and “the jury [could] weigh [lay witness’s] testimony for itself without 25 [expert’s] assistance”). 26 Second, Shepston’s opinion that Decedent’s Jeep was visible from one-quarter mile 27 out does not satisfy Rule 702. To form this opinion, Shepston relied only on deposition 28 testimony in which Robertson “indicated . . . that, with his headlights on, he can see within -4- 1 a quarter of a mile fairly easily.” (Doc. 70-2 at 8.) Again, this opinion fails under both 2 Rule 702(a) and 702(c)—Shepston’s scientific knowledge is not helpful for the jury and 3 Shepston’s opinion is not based on any methodology. Accordingly, Shepston will be 4 precluded from testifying to this opinion at trial. 5 Third, to the extent Shepston intends to testify that Robertson caused the collision 6 because he was inattentive and “mirror-checking,” Shepston did not rely on any “facts or 7 data” or apply any “principles and methods” to formulate this opinion, and he will therefore 8 be precluded from testifying to it. Fed. R. Evid. 702(b)-(c). 9 Finally, the Court disagrees with Defendants’ contention that Shepston does not 10 have a scientific basis for his conclusions regarding perception time. (Doc. 70 at 6.) 11 Shepston testified in his deposition that he used a software program called Interactive 12 Driver Response Research (“IDRR”) for his perception time analysis, which allows the 13 user to input different variables to determine perception times. (Doc. 76-1 at 38-41.) 14 Defendants have not challenged Shepston’s methodology but rather have conclusorily 15 stated that Shepston “does not have any scientific basis for [this] opinion.” (Doc. 70 at 6.) 16 Because Defendants do not attack the basis on which Shepston relied (but mistakenly claim 17 he had no basis), the Court will allow Shepston to testify to this opinion at trial. 18 C. 19 Defendants argue that “Shepston does not have the scientific data or specialized 20 knowledge to present [the] opinions” that (1) Decedent’s “vehicle, more likely than not, 21 had functioning headlights and taillights that were operational and turned ‘on’ at the time 22 of impact” and (2) “[e]ven if [Decedent’s] vehicle did not have functioning taillights, the 23 reflectors covering the taillights would have been illuminated by the Robertson tractor- 24 trailer’s headlights.” (Doc. 70 at 7, quoting Doc. 70-2 at 9.) They argue Shepston was not 25 qualified to render these opinions because he “has no prior experience in ‘electrical work 26 on vehicles,’ he is not an electrical engineer, he does not have any training in vehicle 27 electronic systems beyond gathering information from the air bag control module, he has 28 never worked in an auto repair shop and has no experience in manufacturing these Vehicle Lights -5- 1 vehicles.” (Doc. 70 at 7, citing Doc. 70-4 at 2-3.) 2 In response, Plaintiffs argue that (1) “Defendants cite no requirement that Shepston 3 has to be an electrical engineer or automobile mechanic to conclude, assuming the 4 headlights on the Jeep were illuminated at the time of impact, whether it is more likely than 5 not that the taillights were also illuminated”; (2) “Defendants fail to mention that since the 6 rear of [Decedent’s] vehicle sustained such significant crush and fire damage, making it 7 impossible to test the rear taillights or electrical system, Shepston had no choice but to use 8 an exemplar vehicle to perform the relevant testing”; and (3) “Defendants gloss over 9 Shepston’s methodology regarding the vehicle lighting which included inspecting and 10 photographing [Decedent’s] Jeep.” (Doc. 76 at 6-7.) 11 The Court agrees with Defendants. First, to determine that Decedent’s Jeep had 12 functioning headlights and taillights that were most likely turned on at the time of the 13 collision, Shepston relied only on the facts that (1) “[v]ideo of [Decedent’s] vehicle post- 14 crash demonstrated that the headlights were operational,” (2) “[r]esearch of [Decedent’s] 15 vehicle revealed it was not equipped with daytime running lights, which means in order for 16 the headlights to be illuminated, the headlight switch has to be manually turned to the ‘on’ 17 position,” and (3) “[i]nspection of the exemplar video revealed that when the headlights 18 are manually turned ‘on,’ the taillights are illuminated as well.” (Doc. 70-2 at 8.) There is 19 no methodology in this analysis. Also, Shepston did not examine the actual Jeep involved 20 in the collision and he did not reach his conclusion based on reconstruction of the collision. 21 Moreover, Shepston, as an accident reconstruction expert who admitted he had no 22 experience with vehicle electronic systems, is not qualified to testify to vehicle electrical 23 systems. “[T]he fact that an expert is qualified in a particular field or discipline does not 24 automatically qualify that expert in related disciplines.” Guido v. L’Oreal, USA, Inc., 2014 25 WL 6603730, *7 (C.D. Cal. 2014). 26 Second, the opinion that, “[e]ven if [Decedent’s] vehicle did not have functioning 27 taillights, the reflectors covering the taillights would have been illuminated by the 28 Robertson tractor-trailer’s headlights” (Doc. 70-2 at 9) could presumably have been within -6- 1 the purview of an accident reconstructionist. But Shepston provides no discussion in his 2 report of how he reached this conclusion. And he testified in his deposition that he did not 3 “use[] any tests to determine . . . the reflectiveness of the vehicle’s light reflectors” or 4 “recreate the scene at all to determine the visibility of the vehicle to Mr. Robertson as he 5 was driving up to it, given the light sources.” (Doc. 70-4 at 8-9.) Because this opinion is 6 not based on any facts or data, the Court will preclude Shepston from testifying as to it. 7 On final point is worth emphasizing. An expert may, in appropriate circumstances, 8 rely on assumptions when formulating opinions. Fed. R. Evid. 702, advisory committee 9 notes to 2000 amendments (“The language ‘facts or data’ is broad enough to allow an 10 expert to rely on hypothetical facts that are supported by the evidence.”). However, an 11 expert cannot pass off those assumptions as opinions. Thus, although Shepston may not 12 render the opinion that the area where the collision occurred was “well-lit” and had clear 13 visibility or that the Jeep had its lights on at the time of the collision, he may be permitted 14 to rely on those assumptions in forming his reconstruction and avoidability opinions. Cf. 15 Biltmore Assocs., L.L.C. v. Thimmesch, 2007 WL 5662124, *6 (D. Ariz. 2007) (“Although 16 Jenkins is not qualified to offer an opinion as to whether the shareholder claims ever 17 existed, she is permitted to assume that they existed and base her damages calculation on 18 that assumption.”). Put another way, the Court does not disagree with Plaintiffs that to 19 “reconstruct[] the details of a collision,” Shepston “was required to inspect the scene and 20 the vehicles involved, take measurements, and make certain assumptions.” (Doc. 76 at 4.). 21 But those assumptions should be clearly identified so Defendants can seek to challenge 22 them via cross-examination. See generally United States v. Crabbe, 556 F. Supp. 2d 1217, 23 1224 (D. Colo. 2008) (“An expert witness may often ‘assume’ a fact for purposes of 24 applying the methodology. The assumption may be based upon information supplied to 25 the witness or on someone else’s work or opinion. . . . An assumption must be clearly 26 stated as such, because when an assumption is used, the opinion becomes conditional. If 27 the assumption is in error, the opinion may be entirely invalidated.”). See also Marsteller 28 v. MD Helicopter Inc., 2018 WL 3023284, *2 (D. Ariz. 2018) (“The challenges to Equals’ -7- 1 opinions and the weaknesses in his assumptions are issues to be explored on cross- 2 examination.”); Flying Fish Bikes, Inc. v. Giant Bicycle, Inc., 2014 WL 12621218, *1 3 (M.D. Fla. 2014) (drawing a distinction between “an expert’s unquestioned ability to render 4 an opinion based on assumed facts and an opposing party’s ability to factually disprove the 5 expert’s factual assumptions” and emphasizing that “[t]he prospect that the opposition 6 might disprove assumed facts . . . presents no barrier to the admissibility of an expert’s 7 opinion”). 8 D. Reason For Decedent’s Slow Speed And Direction Of Travel 9 Finally, Defendants argue that Shepston should be precluded from testifying that 10 Decedent was moving to the side of the road due to mechanical malfunction or emergency 11 because this opinion “is based on speculation” and is “not based on any specialized 12 knowledge or expertise or supported by facts.” (Doc. 70 at 8-9.) 13 Plaintiffs respond that “Defendants[] focus on Shepston’s testimony as to the 14 possibilities for the Jeep’s direction of travel and not on his methodology used for 15 concluding the Jeep was traveling in a south easterly direction.” (Doc. 76 at 8.) 16 This appears to be another instance of the parties talking past each other. Shepston 17 concludes in his report: “The speed of [Decedent’s] vehicle and the direction it was 18 traveling is consistent with [Decedent] attempting to drive to the right side of the roadway 19 before the collision occurred—perhaps with his emergency ‘flashers’ on, and also, perhaps, 20 due to a mechanical or tire failure. Due to damage to [Decedent’s] vehicle, however, it is 21 not possible to determine the nature of the problem.” (Doc. 70-2 at 10.) In his deposition, 22 Shepston testified that “moving to the right is consistent with wanting to get over” and “if 23 you’re at a low speed, that’s consistent with wanting to get over.” (Doc. 70-4 at 17.) He 24 also conceded that “there are many other reasons why he could have been at that low speed 25 and that direction[,] [h]e could have been drunk[,] [h]e could have been sleeping. . . . We 26 don’t know.” (Id.) 27 As is evident from the cited portions of Shepston’s report and deposition, Shepston 28 has not offered an opinion that Decedent’s speed and direction of travel were due to -8- 1 mechanical malfunction or emergency. In fact, he explicitly concluded in his report that 2 “[d]ue to damage to [Decedent’s] vehicle, . . . it is not possible to determine” why Decedent 3 was moving in that direction. (Doc. 70-2 at 10.) It is, thus, unclear why Defendants are 4 trying to preclude Shepston from offering such an opinion. In any event, to the extent 5 Shepston intends to testify to this opinion at trial, he will be precluded from doing so. 6 Shepston may, however, testify regarding Decedent’s speed and direction of travel, 7 because such opinions would fall squarely within the category of accident reconstruction. 8 II. Defendants’ Motion Regarding David Stopper (Doc. 71) 9 As with Defendants’ other motion, although this motion is broadly titled, 10 Defendants clarify they are only seeking “to bar the testimony of plaintiffs’ proposed 11 standards of care expert, David A. Stopper [‘Stopper’], specifically as it relates to accident 12 reconstruction, perception time, reaction time, visibility, and vehicle electrical systems.” 13 (Doc. 71 at 1.) They argue that Stopper’s opinions regarding these topics are “anecdotal 14 and speculative” and that Stopper should be precluded from testifying to these opinions 15 because of “the lack of sufficient data for the proposed expert testimony, and the experts’ 16 [sic] own admission that he is either not offering an opinion on these issues or did not do 17 the evaluation necessary to provide such opinions.” (Id. at 4-5.) 18 In response, Plaintiffs confirm that Stopper will not be testifying (1) “to those things 19 he said he would not be testifying to,” (2) “as to any technical specifications for 20 [Decedent’s] vehicle,” (3) “about the credibility of any witness,” or (4) “as to any scientific 21 testing or calculations he performed.” (Doc. 77 at 1, 4.) Plaintiffs state Stopper will only 22 “testify as to the standard of care of a commercial vehicle operator, statutes, regulations, 23 and manuals affecting the profession, and his opinions about the cause of this crash.” (Id. 24 at 4.) 25 In their reply, Defendants identify three specific opinions in Stopper’s report that 26 should be precluded. Those opinions are that: (1) “Defendants’ vehicle should have been 27 capable of deceleration rates of at least 13 miles per hour”; (2) the “area of this collision 28 was a very well-lighted section of a major highway”; (3) and “had Mr. Robertson been -9- 1 alert and keeping a proper forward lookout, while operating the properly equipped air 2 brake, anti-lock brake (ABS) truck tractor semi-trailer, he had more than adequate time and 3 distance to adjust his speed and direction to avoid the collision with [Decedent’s] Jeep.” 4 (Doc. 79 at 2, citing Doc. 79-4 at 3-4, 12-13.) 5 Plaintiffs indicate that Stopper will be testifying to various aspects of the standard 6 of care as well as “his opinions about the cause of this crash.” (Doc. 77 at 4.) Those are 7 two distinct categories of opinions. 8 report contains opinions that fall outside those categories. Because Defendants are not 9 challenging Stopper’s opinions as to the standards of care, Stopper will not be precluded 10 from testifying as to those opinions. But Stopper provided no methodology for how he 11 determined the cause of the collision. Indeed, Stopper conceded in his deposition that he 12 was not retained to conduct any fieldwork (Doc. 71-2 at 3-4) and his opinion contains no 13 discussion or analysis of any fieldwork that either he or any other expert conducted. 14 Accordingly, Stopper will be precluded from testifying to the cause of the collision. 15 Stopper is also precluded from offering opinions concerning the technical specifications of 16 Decedent’s vehicle, the credibility of any witness, and scientific testing or calculations he 17 performed—the categories about which Plaintiffs confirmed he would not be testifying. 18 Finally, as with Shepston, Stopper cannot provide an opinion regarding visibility because 19 he (like Shepston) provided no methodology in his report in support of his opinion that the 20 collision occurred in “a very well-lighted section” of the highway. 21 III. And, as Defendants noted in their reply, Stopper’s Plaintiff’s Motion Regarding David Krauss, Ph.D. (Doc. 72) 22 Defendants disclosed Dr. Krauss to testify “in [the] areas of conspicuity, reaction 23 time, and how they related to the accident.” (Doc. 72-1 at 16-17.) Dr. Krauss stated in his 24 report that he “ha[s] specialized knowledge in the areas of human factors, human 25 perception and performance, safety, and risk analysis” and “ha[s] extensive publications in 26 this field, including a book.” (Doc. 75-1 at 2.) Dr. Krauss’s opinions rely on a “looming 27 threshold” theory, which relates to the point at which a driver can perceive a hazard in the 28 distance. (Id. at 6-9.) Dr. Krauss states in his report that he “performed a looming - 10 - 1 calculation to determine the distance at which a driver in Mr. Robertson’s position could 2 first determine that the Jeep was stopped or traveling significantly slower than traffic.” (Id. 3 at 7.) He concluded that “[e]ven if the taillights were illuminated on the Jeep, Mr. 4 Robertson would not have been afforded enough time and distance to avoid a collision with 5 [Decedent’s] vehicle,” and “[t]o the extent the taillights on the Jeep were not illuminated, 6 Mr. Robertson’s ability to avoid this accident would have been diminished even further.” 7 (Id. at 10.) In formulating his opinions, Dr. Krauss relied on various publications and 8 reviewed photographs, videos, witness statements, and other documents in the case. (Id. 9 at 11-12.) 10 Plaintiffs seek to preclude Dr. Krauss from testifying at trial, arguing that (1) his 11 opinions are “not based on sufficient facts or data” because “[h]e has not been to the scene” 12 of the collision; (2) “he did not develop a hypothesis prior to forming his conclusions, but 13 instead, based his conclusions upon a preconceived perception of the case”; and (3) “the 14 application of his ‘looming threshold’ theory is completely subjective and untestable.” 15 (Doc. 72 at 6-11.) With respect to the third reason, they specifically take issue with Dr. 16 Krauss’s deposition testimony, in which they contend he conceded “that there was no 17 quantifiable methodology to determine when his looming theory is used compared to when 18 it is not.” (Id. at 5.) 19 Defendants respond that (1) Dr. Krauss’s opinions are based on sufficient facts 20 and/or data, even though he did not go to the scene, because the opinions are “based on . . . 21 accurate and reliable documentary evidence and eye-witness statements”; (2) “[t]he 22 quantification of the looming threshold is mathematically repeatable and testable, as 23 evidenced by Dr. Krauss’[s] extensive list of references attached to his report”; (3) 24 “[l]ooming threshold is a peer reviewed and published phenomenon”; (4) “[l]ooming 25 threshold enjoys general acceptance in the scientific community”; and (5) “a hypothesis is 26 not a requirement for an expert to be allowed to testify” but Dr. Krauss nonetheless 27 generated a hypothesis and applied the scientific method. (Doc. 75 at 4-9.) 28 The Court will deny the motion. First, Dr. Krauss’s failure to personally visit the - 11 - 1 scene of the collision is not a valid reason to preclude his testimony—his review of 2 photographs, videos, and witness statements was sufficient. Fed. R. Evid. 703 (“An expert 3 may base an opinion on facts or data in the case that the expert has been made aware of or 4 personally observed.”) (emphasis added); Sementilli v. Trinidad Corp., 155 F.3d 1130, 5 1134 (9th Cir. 1998), as amended (Nov. 12, 1998) (“The facts that Dr. Ketchum did not 6 personally examine Sementilli, was not personally present at the accident scene, and was 7 not ‘privy’ to Sementilli’s thought processes just prior to the accident do not render his 8 otherwise admissible expert testimony inadmissible. . . . Dr. Ketchum’s opinions and 9 inferences were based on his review of Sementilli’s medical records, as well as his 10 knowledge, experience, training and education. Under Rule 703, Dr. Ketchum was allowed 11 to rely on such information in forming his opinion.”). 12 Second, Plaintiffs are incorrect in contending Dr. Krauss did not develop a 13 hypothesis before formulating his opinions. In his deposition, although Dr. Krauss testified 14 that he “did not sit down and write down a hypothesis specific to this case because [he has] 15 seen the exact same fact pattern so many times,” he stated he formulated a “broad 16 hypothesis . . . that Mr. [Robertson] could not respond to [Decedent’s] Jeep in enough time 17 to avoid collision.” (Doc. 72-3 at 19-20.) 18 Third, Plaintiffs are again incorrect in contending the looming threshold theory is 19 “completely subjective and untestable.” 20 published sources supporting his opinions (Doc. 75-1 at 11) and Plaintiffs do not dispute 21 the validity of these sources. Dr. Krauss also explained why he used the particular looming 22 threshold value of 0.006 in his calculations. (Doc. 72-3 at 116-120.) And Dr. Krauss did 23 not (as Plaintiffs contend) concede that it is impossible to determine when the looming 24 threshold theory should be deemed inapplicable—Dr. Krauss testified that looming 25 threshold analysis is generally the proper perception-time analysis at night. (Id. at 31, 106- 26 07.) 27 … 28 (Doc. 72 at 8.) Dr. Krauss cited multiple … - 12 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that: 1. Defendants’ Motion to Bar Report and Testimony of Plaintiffs’ Proposed Expert Michael J. Shepston (Doc. 70) is granted in part and denied in part; 2. Defendants’ Motion to Bar Report and Testimony of Plaintiffs’ Proposed Expert David A. Stopper (Doc. 71) is granted in part and denied in part; and 3. Plaintiff’s Daubert Motion re: Testimony of David Krauss, Ph.D. (Doc. 72) is 7 denied. 8 Dated this 16th day of August, 2019. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 - 13 -

Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.


Why Is My Information Online?