Beane v. Utility Trailer Manufacturing Co.
Beane v. Utility Trailer Manufacturing Co.
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM RULING
Before the Court is a Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 242], filed by the defendant, Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company (“UTM”). The plaintiff, Monique Beane, timely filed a response [Doc. 286], and UTM then filed a reply [Doc. 302]. As the motion is fully briefed, the undersigned finds that it is ripe for consideration. For the foregoing reasons, UTM’s Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED.
BACKGROUND
In this lawsuit, the plaintiff claims damages as a result of a May 5, 2009 tractor-trailer accident in which her husband, Robert Beane (“the decedent”), was killed when his Suburban collided with a UTM trailer on U.S. Highway 1 in Caddo Parish. The petition alleges that Beane’s Suburban struck the side of the UTM trailer at a ninety degree angle, causing his Suburban to travel beneath (a collision the plaintiff describes as a “side underride”) the trailer.
The plaintiff originally filed this suit in the 36th Judicial District Court of Beauregard Parish, Louisiana.
In a Memorandum Ruling issued February 2, 2011, this court dismissed TTMA based on lack of personal jurisdiction, and dismissed the plaintiffs claims for negligence, punitive damages, and wrongful death damages for pain and suffering against UTM, finding that the Louisiana
The parties’ contention in this motion is whether the plaintiffs biomechanical expert, Dr. Paul France, actually addressed a specific alternative design to the UTM trailer which would have prevented the decedent’s death or injuries. The plaintiff retained Dr. Paul France as her expert in biomechanical engineering, and Dr. France rendered his written report in this matter on June 7, 2012 (“the France Report”).
While UTM alleges that the France Report does not identify or reference a particular alternative design that was capable of preventing the decedent’s death,
UTM now moves for summary judgment on the plaintiffs LPLA claim.
SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD
A court should grant a motion for summary judgment when the pleadings, including the opposing party’s affidavits, “show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323-24, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The party moving for summary judgment is initially responsible for demonstrating the reasons justifying the motion by identifying portions of pleadings and discovery that show the lack of a genuine issue of material fact for trial. Tubacex, Inc. v. M/V Risan, 45 F.3d 951, 954 (5th Cir. 1995). If the dis-positive issue is one that the nonmoving party bears the burden of proof at trial,
If the movant satisfies this burden, however, then the nonmoving party must “designate specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Tubacex, 45 F.3d at 954. In evaluating motions for summary judgment, the court must view all facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). Ultimately, summary judgment is warranted when the record as a whole “could not lead a rational finder of fact to find for the non-moving party.” Id.
LAW & ANALYSIS
As this case’s subject matter jurisdiction is premised on diversity of citizenship, the substantive law of Louisiana governs this dispute. See Erie R.R. Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 58 S.Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188 (1938). As noted supra, in this instance, the plaintiff’s claims against UTM are governed by the framework of the LPLA. The plaintiff alleges that (1) UTM failed to implement or utilize designs that would have reduced or eliminated side underrides like the one experienced by the decedent and (2) the trailer was defectively designed and unreasonably dangerous because it lacked side guards.
The LPLA provides, inter alia:
A. The manufacturer of a product shall be liable to a claimant for damage proximately caused by a characteristic of the product that renders the product unreasonably dangerous when such damage arose from a reasonably anticipated use of the product by the claimant or another person or entity.
B. A product is unreasonably dangerous if and only if:
(1) The product is unreasonably dangerous in construction or composition as provided in R.S. 9:2800.55;
(2) The product is unreasonably dangerous in design as provided in R.S. 9:2800.56;
(3) The product is unreasonably dangerous because an adequate warning about the product has not been provided as provided in R.S. 9:2800.57; or
(4) The product is unreasonably dangerous because it does not conform to an express warranty of the manufacturer about the product as provided in R.S. 9:2800.58.
C. The characteristic of the product that renders it unreasonably dangerous under R.S. 9:2800.55 must exist at the time the product left the control of its manufacturer. The characteristic of the product that renders it unreasonably dangerous under R.S. 9:2800.56 or 9:2800.57 must exist at the time the product left the control of its manufacturer or result from a reasonably anticipated alteration or modification of the product.
D. The claimant has the burden of proving the elements of Subsections A, B and C of this Section.
La.Rev.Stat. Ann. § 9:2800.54.
The LPLA then proceeds to define unreasonable dangerousness in design under § 9:2800.56 as follows:
A product is unreasonably dangerous in design if, at the time the product left its manufacturer’s control:
(1) There existed an altexmative design for the product that was capable of*875 preventing the claimant’s damages; and
(2) The likelihood that the product’s design would cause the claimant’s damage and the gravity of that damage outweighed the burden on the manufacturer of adopting such alternative design and the adverse effect, if any, of such alternative design on the utility of the product.
The plaintiff bears the burden of proving these elements. See Krummel v. Bombardier Corp., 206 F.3d 548, 551 (5th Cir. 2000).
I. The Parties’ Arguments
UTM argues that, as Dr. France’s expertise as a biomechanical engineer involves “the application of engineering to medical science, the opinion of [the plaintiffs] biomechanical engineer is necessary to establish this essential element of [her] case:” namely, that the Enz Side Under-ride Guard (“Enz guard”) proposed by Enz and Ponder would have prevented the decedent’s death.
The plaintiff counters that UTM inappropriately attempts to “isolate” only part of the evidence in making its argument by solely focusing on Dr. France’s testimony.
UTM counters, in its reply, that “facing summary judgment for failure to satisfy the [specific alternative design] requirement of the LPLA, Plaintiff has now attempted to re-invent the case by adding an impermissible new opinion from Dr. France [in the form of his new affidavit].”
Continuing, UTM alleges that it is equally puzzling and disingenuous for the plaintiff to claim that the only reason Dr. France did not discuss the Enz guard in his deposition was because UTM did not ask him about the Enz guard, particularly in light of the fact that Dr. France’s report, which was purportedly a complete statement of all his opinions, made no references to the Enz guard.
Rounding out its reply, UTM addresses the plaintiffs expert, Perry Ponder. Ponder has been offered by the plaintiff to testify on a large slate of issues, including injury causation and how the Enz guard would have reduced the decedent’s injuries. UTM notes that Ponder was the subject of a Daubert motion, in which UTM moved to exclude his opinions on injury causation on the theory that Ponder is not a biomechanical engineer.
A. Dr. France’s Affidavit is Inadmissible Summary Judgment Evidence
The undersigned will first address the plaintiffs submission of Dr. France’s affidavit, in which Dr, France asserts that, after he wrote his report and was deposed by UTM, he “reviewed additional materials including certain reports, depositions, and affidavits pertaining to this case[, including] those from Mr. Bruce Enz ... and Mr. Perry L. Ponder.”
Among other things, an expert’s report must contain a “complete statement of all opinions the witness will express,” and “the facts and data considered by the expert.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a)(2)(B)(i-ii). On the eve of summary judgment, Dr. France’s opinion that he is specifically adopting the Enz guard is contained nowhere in his expert report. The plaintiff argues that she is simply clarifying the issue in light of the fact that UTM never asked Dr. France about the Enz guard. Her arguments on this point are misplaced.
The Sixth Circuit case R.C. Olmstead, Inc. v. CU Interface, LLC, 606 F.3d 262 (6th Cir. 2010) is instructive on what an expert must disclose in his report. In Olmstead, the plaintiff, Olmstead, retained one expert, Reid, who would provide testimony on whether the defendant, CUI, had copied the plaintiffs software. Id. at 271. The district court granted the defendant’s motion to exclude use of Reid’s testimony, finding that his- report failed to comply with five out of the six expert report disclosure requirements of Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a)(2)(B). Id. at 268. On appeal, the Sixth Circuit addressed the deficiencies in Reid’s report, noting that the “[m]ost troubling of the violations that the district court described is Reid’s.failure ... to give ‘a complete statement of all opinions the witness will express and the basis and reasons for them.’ ” Id. at 271 (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a)(2)(B)©). It noted that Reid had provided only “cursory support” for his conclusion that the defendants had copied the plaintiffs software, particularly because he had failed to discuss the basis of his conclusion that the alleged similarities between the two parties’ software was because of the alleged copying. Id. The Sixth Circuit then closed by finding:
Under Rule 26(a), a “report must be complete such that opposing counsel is not forced to depose an expert in order to avoid an ambush at trial; and moreover the report must be sufficiently complete so as to shorten or decrease the need for expert depositions and thus to conserve resources.” Salgado v. Gen. Motors Corp., 150 F.3d 735, 742 n. 6 (7th Cir. 1998) (citing Sylla-Sawdon v. Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co., 47 F.3d 277, 284 (8th Cir. 1995)). “Expert reports must include ‘how1 and ‘why’ the expert reached a particular result, not merely the expert’s conclusory opinions.” Id. Reid’s report plainly failed to clear this hurdle.
In this case, Dr. France’s conclusions on the Enz guard are completely new and not
Thus, the undersigned will not consider Dr. France’s affidavit expressly adopting the Enz guard for the determination of this motion, particularly in light of the fact that its inclusion would be harmful to UTM on the eve of summary judgment and weeks before trial. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(c)(1) (“If a party fails to provide information ... as required by Rule 26(a) ... the party is not allowed to use that information ... to supply evidence on a motion, at a hearing, or at trial, unless the failure was substantially justified or harmless.”).
B. Effect of Daubert Motion Ruling on Ponder
The undersigned next turns to UTM’s argument that its motion for summary judgment here is dependent on this court’s ruling on its Daubert motion for Ponder. A hearing on UTM’s Daubert motion for Ponder was conducted on February 26, 2013, 2013 WL 1345770. The undersigned granted the motion, but only to the limited extent that Ponder could not testify on a “conspiracy theory” with the TTMA, and could not use data from Enz guard crash tests (which the court found were not substantially similar to this case’s accident) to
C. Despite the Failure of Dr. France’s New Affidavit, The Plaintiff Has Created a Fact Issue on a Specific Alternative Design Capable of Preventing Beane’s Damage
1. Specific Alternative Design
Under the LPLA, the plaintiff bears the burden of demonstrating a specific alternative design. La.Rev.St'at. § 9:2800.56(1). Addressing UTM’s argument that Dr. France himself should have specified a particular alternative design/side guard for the UTM trailer, UTM has cited a string of cases for the general proposition that “a proposed alternative design submitted to prove § 9:2800.56 must be specific.”
For example, in Gray v. Industrial Plant Maintenance, 2004 WL 1661209 (E.D.La., July 23, 2004), the Eastern District of Louisiana’s Judge Vance found that the plaintiff had not met his burden of producing a specific alternative design for a tractor because the plaintiff had “submitted] no drawing, specification, model, sample, calculation, photograph, or expert opinion on his proposed alternative design. He merely describes [the alternative design] generieally as having a cutoff switch and a cover of some sort over the PTO shaft.” Id. at *5. In another opinion cited by UTM, Andrews v. Dufour, 2003-0736 (La.App. 4 Cir. 6/2/04), 882 So.2d 15, the Louisiana Fourth Circuit addressed whether a plaintiff had provided sufficient proof that his proposed alternative design for a gas tank (a plastic shield which would attach to the bottom of the tank) would have prevented the accident. Id. at 25. Instructive to the court was the fact that the plaintiffs expert had not done any testing on this .plastic shield to determine whether the shield could have prevented a puncture to the plaintiffs gas tank, or even what the shield would have looked like. Id. at 25-26. Finally, in Jaeger v. Automotive Gas. Ins. Co., 95-2448 (La.App. 4 Cir. 10/9/96); 682 So.2d 292, the court found that the plaintiff had failed to prove
' Reviewing Dr. France’s report, he opined that the decedent’s injuries would have been “below fatal standards” if the UTM trailer had included a device that eliminated underride.
The testimony of Enz and Ponder comes in as the complementary missing puzzle pieces to this inquiry, by providing a specific proposed alternative design: the Enz guard, which is described in detail by the plaintiffs design experts, Enz and Ponder. While. Dr. France admittedly did not specifically mention the Enz guard in his report or deposition, Enz and Ponder’s reports, affidavits, and deposition testimony fill in that gap and work together to create a fact issue on the specific alternative design requirement of § 9:2800.56. Such is the case in many trials: one expert seldom carries the burden of producing evidence on every single element of a case. In this instance, essentially, Dr. France sets the scene: he opines that if UTM’s trailer had had side underride protection which prevented underride and “occupant space intrusion” (essentially, the trailer chopping or crushing the top of the vehicle off as it underrides the trailer), then the decedent’s airbags would have deployed. Further, the collision impact spot on the Suburban would have been moved from the windshield to the front of the Suburban, changing his injuries from fatal to non-fatal. Ponder and Enz then round out the inquiry by producing data that such side under-ride protection exists in the form of the Enz guard.
2. Whether the Specific Alternative Design was Capable of Preventing The decedent’s Damage
Finally, the undersigned turns to UTM’s argument that Dr. France did not address whether a specific alternative design would have been capable of preventing the decedent’s damage.
The undersigned notes that if UTM had wished to file a Daubert motion against Dr. France as an expert, then the appropriate channel would have been to file a separate Daubert motion, and not instead tuck Daubert arguments into a motion for summary judgment. Reviewing the information provided on Dr. France, however, the undersigned still finds him qualified to testify. Under Rule 702, an expert’s qualifications may derive from knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education. “[A]s long as an expert stays within the reasonable confines of his subject area, our case law establishes a lack of specialization does not affect the admissibility of the expert opinion, but only its weight.” Ralston v. Smith & Nephew Richards, Inc., 275 F.3d 965, 970 (10th Cir. 2001) (quoting Compton v. Subaru of Am., Inc., 82 F.3d 1513, 1520 (10th Cir. 1996)) (quotation marks and alteration marks omitted); see also Zuchowicz v. United States, 140 F.3d 381, 387 (2d Cir. 1998) (“[Disputes as to the strength of his credentials, faults in his use of differential etiology as a methodology, or lack of textual authority for his opinion, go to the weight, not the admissibility of his testimony.”). Here, reviewing Dr. France’s CV,
On the reliability issue, whether an expert’s testimony is reliable requires “an assessment of whether the reasoning or methodology underlying the testimony is scientifically valid.” Curtis v. M & S Petroleum, Inc., 174 F.3d 661, 668 (5th Cir. 1999). “The proponent need not prove to the judge that the expert’s testimony is correct, but she must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the testimony is reliable.” Moore v. Ashland Chem. Inc., 151 F.3d 269, 276 (5th Cir. 1998) (en banc). It is then the district court’s responsibility to “make certain that an expert, whether basing testimony upon professional studies or personal experience, employs in the courtroom the same level of intellectual rigor that characterizes the practice of an expert in the relevant field.” Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137, 152, 119 S.Ct. 1167, 143 L.Ed.2d 238 (1999); Dart v. Kitchens Bros. Mfg. Co., 253 Fed.Appx. 395, 397-98 (5th Cir. 2007).
Addressing Dr. France’s methodology in coming to his conclusions, UTM cites to the unpublished case, Layssard v. U.S., 2007 WL 4144936 (W.D.La. Nov. 20, 2007), in which the court excluded a biomechanical engineer from testifying in a Federal Tort Claims Act case (involving a low speed automobile accident between the plaintiff in a Chevrolet and an Army vehicle operated by an Army employee) after a Daubert challenge was lodged against him. Id. at *1. The court first found that because the expert wás a biomechanical engineer and not a doctor, it would “at least preclude [the expert] from testifying as to medical causation and would limit his testimony to the forces involved in the collision and whether or not these would generally lead to injury.” Id. at *3. Next, the court found that the expert’s testimony should be excluded because his opinion that a low speed collision (like the one at issue in the
Turning to his report, Dr. France was tasked with “examin[ing] the evidence surrounding the subject accident and ... forumlat[ing] opinions related to injury mechanisms and the change in injury result for [the decedent] if the Utility Trailer had been equipped with side underride protection.”
As with the specific alternative design, here too -Ponder and Enz are required to fill in the gaps of Dr. France’s conclusions, as alone Dr. France certainly would not be sufficient to prove this element of the plaintiffs LPLA claim. To reiterate, under La.Rev.Stat. § 9:2800.56, the plaintiff has the burden of proving, among other things, that, at the time the product left the manufacturer’s control, there existed an alternative design for the product that was capable of preventing the claimant’s damages. Courts in Louisiana have held that a plaintiff asserting an LPLA claim must prove that the alternative design was capable or would have been “significantly less likely” than the chosen design to cause the claimant’s complained of damages, or
Ponder will testify on, among other things, the “engineering calculations to determine both the strength and energy absorption of various SURGs including the [Enz guard].”
Enz provides similar testimony. He notes in his affidavit that the crash testing conducted on the Enz guard will show in general the “engineering principles, dynamics, and physics involved in real world side underride incidents involving many angles ... speeds and vehicles.”
While for the reasons discussed supra, Ponder and Enz cannot specifically testify about medical probability of survivability based on the crash forces in the decedent’s case, they can at least provide the needed follow up missing from Dr. France’s report on the mechanical properties of the Enz guard and how it would have performed in
Construing the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and looking at the record as a whole, however, the undersigned finds that it is premature to grant summary judgment on the plaintiffs LPLA claim based on these shortcomings. The issue of just how effective the plaintiffs proposed alternative design may, be, and whether it would have reduced the decedent’s injuries from fatal to non-fatal, is instead more properly an issue to be determined by the jury, who must assess for themselves the reliability and weight to afford Ponder and Enz’s expert testimony.
CONCLUSION
Because the evidence demonstrates that there is a material issue of fact concerning the existence of a proposed alternative design for UTM’s trailer and whether that alternative design could have prevented Beane’s death, UTM’s .Motion for Summary Judgment must be denied.
. Pi’s CompL, [Doc. 1-3], at ¶ 3.
. See generally id.
. Not. of Removal, [Doc. 1],
. Beane v. Ladislav, case no. 2:09-cv-02030.
. [Doc. 1-3] at 14.
. Id. at ¶ 5
. See Mem. Ruling, [Doc. 71] at pgs. 15-16. The court clarified that the plaintiff could still recover the specific wrongful death damages included in the LPLA for: loss of love, affection, companionship, service and support, and medical and funeral expenses, but could not recover physical pain and suffering damages under the LPLA Id. at pg. 16.
. Def.'s Statement of Uncontested Material Facts, [Doc. 242-2], at ¶¶ 5-6, Pl.’s Statement of Material Facts [Doc. 293], at ¶¶ 5-6.
. [Doc. 242-2] at ¶ 8.
. [Doc. 293] at ¶ 8.
. [Doc. 242-2] at ¶ 10.
. [Doc. 293] at ¶ 10.
. . [Doc. 242-2] at ¶ 11.
. [Doc. 293] at ¶ 11.
. Def.’s Mem. in Supp. of Mot. for Summ. J., [Doc. 242-1], at pg. 8.
. Id. at pgs. 11-12.
. Id. atpg. 9.
. Id. atpg. 11.
. Pl.’s Mem. in Opp. to Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., [Doc. 286], at pg. 2.
. See id. at pg. 6.
. Id. atpg. 3.
. Id.
. "Affidavit of Paul France,” Ex. B to PL's Opp. to Mot. for Summ. J., [Doc. 286-2],
. Perry Ponder Affidavit, Deposition, CV, and Materials, Exs. E-H to PL's Opp. to Mot. for Summ. J., [Docs 286-5 thru 286-8], Bruce Enz Affidavit, Deposition, and CV, Exs. I-K to PL's Opp. to Mot. for Summ. J., [Docs 286-7 thru 286-11].
. Def.’s Reply to Mot. for Summ. J., [Doc. 302], atpg. 1.
. Id. at pg. 2.
. Id. at pg. 3.
. Id. at pg. 4.
. Id. at pg. 6.
. Id. at pg. 7.
. Id. atpg. 8.
. Id.
. Id. at pg. 9.
. Dr. France Affidavit, Ex. B. to Pl.'s Opp. to Mot. for Summ. J., [Doc. 286-2],
. Id.
. Additionally, the undersigned must remind the plaintiff that she bears the burden of proving the elements of her LPLA claim at trial. Thus, assertions that UTM’s claims fail because it did not ask about certain issues in a deposition improperly place the burden on UTM.
. The relevant portion of Dr. France’s deposition is as follows:
UTM counsel: "You've examined the performance of side underride guards?"
Dr. France: "I've presented materials in— in the Baker case and in this case of tests have been accomplished on the Enz side— SURG system and — have seen the results of collision tests associated with those systems.”
France Deposition at pg. 102, [Doc. 242-5].
. The relevant portions of Dr. France's deposition is as follows:
UTM counsel: "And there’s nothing in your report regarding a side underride guard or protection designed or offered by Bruce Enz. True?”
Dr. France: "Correct. It's not — I didn't address this particular design in my report.”
Id. at pg. 75.
UTM counsel: "... have you — have you ever seen side underride protection on the road on a trailer?”
Dr. France: Not that I would designate that way. But I — I’ve seen things hanging down underneath that would function, I think, in that way ... But I haven’t seen one like the Enz system have — have been designed for.”
Id. atpg. 101.
. Minutes for Feb. 26, 2013 Daubert Hearing [Doc. 358].
. [Doc. 242-1] atpg. 12.
. Dr. France Report, Ex. A to Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., [Doc. 242-4], at pg. 4.
. Id.
. See id.
. Id.
. [Doc. 242-1] atpg. 13.
. Id. at pg. 14.
. Id.
. Dr. France CV, Ex. D to Pl.’s Opp. to Mot. for Summ. J., [Doc. 286-4].
. [Doc. 242-2] at pg. 3.
. Dr. France Deposition, Ex. to PL's Opp. to Mot. for Summ. J., [Doc. 286-3], at 74: 18-24. Irwin was not the subject of a Daubert challenge, and his conclusions also are essentially identical with those provided by UTM's accident reconstruction expert, Dr. Stephen Werner.
. Id. at 75: 3-15.
. Id. at 76-79.
. [Doc. 242-4] at pg. 4.
. Ponder Affidavit, Ex. E to Pl.'s Opp. to Mot. for Summ. J., [Doc. 286-5], at pg. 3.
. Id. atpgs. 4-5.
. Id. at pg.
. Id. at pg. 7.
. Enz Affidavit, Ex. I to Pl.’s Opp. to Mot. for Summ. J., [Doc. 286-9], at pg. 4.
. Id. atpg. 5.
. Id. at pg. 7. UTM once again cites to dissimilar case law in support of its argument that the plaintiff has not created a question of material fact on the alternative design’s capability to prevent the decedent’s injuries. Specifically, she cites to Seither v. Winnebago Indus., Inc., (La.App. 4 Cir. 7/2/03); 853 So.2d 37, an LPLA case involving a Winnebago. At the trial court -level, the jury found Winnebago forty percent at fault and the Winnebago dealer thirty percent at fault. Id. at 39. All parties subsequently appealed. On appeal, the Fourth Circuit found that the plaintiffs had not presented a valid alternative design for the Winnebago: they had merely presented "a concept that was untested, unengineered, and not presented to the jury in any fashion more than mere speculation" Id. at 41.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Monique L. BEANE, Individually and as Natural Tutrix of the Minor Child, Jeb v. UTILITY TRAILER MANUFACTURING COMPANY and Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published