Carr v. Meyer et al
Filing
121
ORDER by Magistrate Judge Laura Fashing granting in part and denying in part 95 Motion to Exclude Part of Sergeant Steven Carroll's Testimony. (cda)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO
JAY MEYER,
Plaintiff,
v.
1:15-cv-01097-LF-KBM
CELADON GROUP, INC. d/b/a
CELADON TRUCKING SERVICES, and
SCOTTRA CARR,
Defendants.
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
THIS MATTER comes before the Court on third-party defendant (n/k/a defendant1)
Celadon Group, Inc. d/b/a Celadon Trucking Services’ (“Celadon”) Daubert Motion to Exclude
Part of Sergeant Steven Carroll’s Testimony, filed on December 7, 2016, and fully briefed on
January 4, 2017. Docs. 95, 106, 111, 113. Having read the submissions of the parties and the
relevant law, the Court finds that the motion is well taken in part and will be granted in part and
denied in part.
This is a personal injury suit that arose from a collision of two tractor-trailer vehicles
driven by Jay Meyer and Scottra Carr. New Mexico State Police Sergeant Steven Carroll
reported to the scene of the accident, investigated the collision, and produced a written report
following his investigation. Doc. 95-2; Doc. 111-1. As a part of Sgt. Carroll’s investigation, he
interviewed both Ms. Carr and Mr. Meyer. Based on the interviews, Sgt. Carroll concluded that
Mr. Meyer was at fault for the accident and cited him for careless driving. Doc. 95-2 at 2; Doc.
111-1 at 2. At his deposition, Mr. Meyer’s counsel showed Sgt. Carroll information that was
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This motion was filed before the Court granted the unopposed motion that amended the caption
in this case based on its current procedural posture. See Doc. 115. Celadon now is simply one of
two remaining defendants, and Jay Meyer is the sole plaintiff. See id.
inconsistent with the information Sgt. Carroll received from Ms. Carr during his investigation.
Doc. 95-1 at 5–6. Sgt. Carroll agreed that, had he known the information at the time he wrote his
report, his conclusions about who caused the accident would have been different. Id. Although
neither party disclosed Sgt. Carroll as an expert,2 they agree that Sgt. Carroll’s conclusions are
expert opinions that are governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 702. See Doc. 95 at 3, 5–8;
Doc. 106 at 2–4.
In its reply, Celadon concedes that a portion of Sgt. Carroll’s anticipated testimony “is
arguably based on Sgt. Carroll’s specialized training and not his personal perception at the
accident site,” and proposes redactions to Sgt. Carroll’s anticipated testimony. Doc. 111 at 3.
During the pretrial conference held on January 10, 2017, the parties agreed that the limitations
suggested by Celadon in its reply addressed Mr. Meyer’s concerns with regard to Sgt. Carroll’s
expert testimony. See Doc. 117 at 2.
There is no dispute that Sgt. Carroll’s testimony about what caused the accident is expert
testimony. I agree that the redactions proposed by Celadon remove Sgt. Carroll’s expert
opinions from the report, and that testimony consistent with the proposed redactions will not
implicate Rule 702.
In addition, I find that Sgt. Carroll’s testimony about what caused the accident is equally
inadmissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 701, which provides for opinion testimony by a lay
witness. Under Rule 701, the testimony of a lay witness in the form of opinions or inferences is
2
Celadon argues that although it did not name Sgt. Carroll by name, it disclosed him as an expert
witness as a part of a category of “fact witnesses whose expertise and qualification are duly
established.” The Court finds this disclosure insufficient under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
26(a)(2)(C), which requires “(i) the subject matter on which the witness is expected to present
evidence under Federal Rule of Evidence 702, 703 or 705; and (ii) a summary of the facts and
opinions to which the witness is expected to testify.” Celadon’s disclosure does not meet either
of these requirements.
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limited to those which are “(a) rationally based on the witness’s perception; (b) helpful to clearly
understand the witness’s testimony or to determining a fact in issue; and (c) not based on
scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge within the scope of Rule 702.” FED. R.
EVID. 701. “Under the rule, a lay witness can testify to matters within [his or her] direct personal
knowledge and to matters rationally based on the perception of the witness.” Graves ex rel.
W.A.G. v. Toyota Motor Corp., 2011 WL 4590772, at *8 (S.D. Miss. Sept. 30, 2011). “An
opinion is rationally based on perception if the opinion is the sort that a normal person would
form and ‘no irrational leaps of logic’ are required to sustain it.” Id. (quoting Lynch v. City of
Boston, 180 F.3d 1, 16 (1st Cir. 1999); see also Mississippi Chemical Corp. v. Dresser-Rand
Co., 287 F.3d 359 (5th Cir. 2002) (a lay opinion must be based on rational perception and must
be one that a normal person would form from those perceptions); United States v. Riddle, 103
F.3d 423, 428 (5th Cir. 1997) (same).
Although any witness may offer an opinion as to an ultimate issue to be decided by a
jury, this opinion should not unduly invade the province of the jury when the assistance of the
witness is unnecessary. Sims v. Great Am. Life Ins. Co., 469 F.3d 870, 889 (10th Cir. 2006).
“As a general rule, police officers’ lay opinions as to the cause of an automobile accident formed
by viewing subsequent evidence at the scene are excluded under Rule 701.” Duhon v.
Marceaux, 33 F. App’x 703 (5th Cir. 2002); see also Sims v. Great American Life Ins. Co., 469
F.3d 870, 890 (10th Cir. 2006) (“statements by investigating officers as to accident causation are
generally not admitted unless [] perceived by the witness and helpful to a determination of a fact
in issue”).
Here, Sgt. Carroll did not witness the accident. He conducted a post-accident
investigation and obtained statements from each party. Sgt. Carroll based his determination of
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fault—at least in part—on the statements made to him by the parties. See Doc. 111-1. The
jurors are fully capable of assessing the facts and the credibility of each witness to determine
who is at fault for the collision and will be able to make their own assessment based on the
evidence they will have before it. They do not need the officer’s opinion to assist them.
Accordingly, Sgt. Carroll’s lay opinion about who caused the accident would “unduly invade the
province of the jury when assistance of the witness is unnecessary” and “merely tell the jury
what result to reach.” Sims, 469 F.3d at 889.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that third-party defendant Celadon Group, Inc. d/b/a
Celadon Trucking Services’ (“Celadon”) Daubert Motion to Exclude Part of Sergeant Steven
Carroll’s Testimony is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Sgt. Carroll may testify as a lay witness as to what he
observed at the scene of the accident but will not be permitted to provide any opinions about
what caused the accident.
_______________________________________
Laura Fashing
United States Magistrate Judge
Presiding by Consent
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