Whitney Bank v. S M I Companies Global Inc et al
Filing
55
MEMORANDUM RULING. IT IS ORDERED that the plaintiff's 44 DAUBERT MOTION to Exclude Testimony of Defendants' Expert, W. Timothy Finn II is DENIED without prejudice to the right of the plaintiff to reassert the motion, if appropr iate. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the deadline for the plaintiff to reassert its objections to Mr. Finn's testimony, if appropriate, is the deadline for filing motions in limine, which will be taken up and resolved at the pretrial conference. Signed by Magistrate Judge Patrick J Hanna on 5/31/2018. (crt,Alexander, E)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DIVISION OF LOUISIANA
LAFAYETTE DIVISION
WHITNEY BANK
CIVIL ACTION NO. 6:16-cv-01427
VERSUS
MAGISTRATE JUDGE HANNA
SMI COMPANIES GLOBAL, INC.
AND VAUGHN S. LANE
BY CONSENT OF THE PARTIES
MEMORANDUM RULING
Currently pending is the Daubert motion (Rec. Doc. 44), which was filed by
the plaintiff and seeks to exclude the anticipated trial testimony of the defendants’
expert witness, W. Timothy Finn, II. The motion is opposed. Considering the
evidence, the law, and the arguments of the parties, and for the reasons fully
explained below, the motion is DENIED.
In this commercial dispute, Whitney Bank is seeking to collect amounts
allegedly owed by the defendants pursuant to two promissory notes executed by SMI
Companies Global, Inc. and guaranteed by SMI’s director, officer, and shareholder,
Vaughn S. Lane. The bank is also seeking recognition of the enforceability of the
bank’s security interest in SMI’s accounts receivables. The defendants asserted
affirmative defenses and counterclaims against the bank.
In support of its motion, Whitney Bank argued that Mr. Finn’s opinions are
not relevant because he opined that the bank owed duties to the defendants that are
not grounded in the language of the documents signed by the bank and the
defendants in connection with the bank’s loans to the defendants. More particularly,
Whitney Bank objects to Mr. Finn’s opinion that the bank was required “to act in a
commercially reasonable manner, to act fairly and in good faith, and to act in
accordance with the standard of care in the banking industry.” (Rec. Doc. 44-1 at
16). The bank contends that the only duties it owed to the defendants are those found
in the provisions of the loan documents and those found in the Louisiana Credit
Agreement Statute, La. R.S. § 6:1121 et seq. The bank argued that, because the
duties Mr. Finn identified do not arise out of the loan documents or the cited statute,
Mr. Finn’s opinions are irrelevant to the issues presented in this lawsuit. The
defendants argued that the duties Mr. Finn attributed to the plaintiff in his opinions
are derived from the Uniform Commercial Code, particularly as codified at La. R.S.
10:1-201, 10:1-304, and 10:1-607, and are also grounded in banking industries
principles with which Mr. Finn is familiar due to his years of experience in that field.
The Applicable Standard
In Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the United States Supreme
Court provided the analytical framework for determining whether expert testimony
is admissible under Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. Both scientific and
nonscientific expert testimony are subject to the Daubert framework, which requires
trial courts to make a preliminary assessment of whether the expert testimony is both
2
reliable and relevant.1 When expert testimony is challenged under Daubert, the
party offering the expert's testimony bears the burden of proving its reliability and
relevance by a preponderance of the evidence.2
Reliability is determined by
evaluating whether the reasoning or methodology underlying the expert’s testimony
is scientifically valid.3 To be relevant, the expert testimony must assist the trier of
fact to understand or determine a fact in issue.4 The relevance prong also requires
the proponent of the expert testimony to demonstrate that the expert's reasoning or
methodology can be properly applied to the facts at issue in the case.5
Mr. Finn’s Opinions are Relevant
Whitney Bank did not challenge the reliability of Mr. Finn’s opinions or the
methodology by which he reached them. Whitney Bank’s sole contention is that Mr.
Finn’s opinions are not relevant because they do not rest upon the language of the
documents executed by the bank and its customer or the statute cited by the plaintiff.
1
Burleson v. Tex. Dep't of Criminal Justice, 393 F.3d 577, 583-84 (5th Cir. 2004) (citing
Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 592-93 (1993)).
2
Moore v. Ashland Chem. Co., Inc., 151 F.3d 269, 276 (5th Cir. 1998).
3
Knight v. Kirby Inland Marine, Inc., 482 F.3d 347, 352 (5th Cir. 2007).
4
Bocanegra v. Vicmar Servs., Inc., 320 F.3d 581, 584 (5th Cir. 2003).
5
Johnson v. Arkema, Inc., 685 F.3d 452, 459 (5th Cir. 2012).
3
This Court finds that Mr. Finn’s opinions with regard to the standards
applicable to bankers’ dealings with their commercial customers are relevant,
particularly concerning the affirmative defenses and counterclaims asserted by the
defendants, because they will help the court to understand how the banking industry
works, what acts and omissions fall within the parameters of commercially
reasonable and good faith conduct on the part of bank employees, and what types of
conduct by bank employees fail to meet the industry standards and the standards
imposed by the UCC. Mr. Finn’s opinions will likely help the court to decide
disputed factual issues, particularly with regard to the affirmative defenses and
counterclaim asserted by the defendants. Therefore, the motion will be denied.
However, as the litigation progresses, the relevance or reliability of Mr. Finn’s
opinions may again need to be addressed. Accordingly, the court will not bar the
plaintiff from again asserting its objection to Mr. Finn’s anticipated testimony, if
appropriate, at a later stage of the litigation but not later than the time of the pretrial
conference.
Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons,
IT IS ORDERED that the plaintiff’s motion seeking to exclude the testimony
of the defendants’ expert witness W. Timothy Finn, II (Rec. Doc. 44) is DENIED
without prejudice to the right of the plaintiff to reassert the motion, if appropriate.
4
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the deadline for the plaintiff to reassert its
objections to Mr. Finn’s testimony, if appropriate, is the deadline for filing motions
in limine, which will be taken up and resolved at the pretrial conference.
Signed at Lafayette, Louisiana, this 31st day of May 2018.
____________________________________
PATRICK J. HANNA
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
5
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?