At the 2012 TIDA Annual Conference, Thomas C. DiSalvi, Scott W. McMickle and Christopher M. Vossler presented an informative session on Daubert and its Effect on Trucking Experts.
Thanks again to the Trucking Industry Defense Association and all the committee members who did an excellent job of outlining topics and speakers helpful the industry. Thanks to David Sauvey, and other pioneers of the organization, who realized how important it is to share ideas with each other.
As always, if I can be of assistance to you in north Louisiana or northeast Texas, please don't hesitate to call me day or night.
The following cases deal with Daubert Motions on Liability
Experts pertaining to carrier selection and Equipment issues. Later, I will
outline the Daubert motions pertaining the negligent hiring, police officer
diagrams, safety history & ratings and toxicology. Later, I will post some
key cases about Daubert motions of experts on damages.
Carrier Selection
Winford Dallas Jones v. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. Case No.
7:06CV00547 (W.D. Va. 2008). The Defendant moved in limine to exclude the
Plaintiff’s expert, Thomas M. Corsi’s, testimony regarding carrier selection methods.
This motion was granted and denied in part. Corsi was disallowed from making
conclusions on carrier groups based on their SEA ratings or carrier selection
practices due to his informal research performed before he was deposed.
However, because of his experience with SafeStat, FMCSA data and tractor
trailer accidents, he was permitted to testify on the meaning and reliability
of safety information available to the industry in 2004.
Equipment
Lenore Kabasinskas, Personal Representative of the Estate of Frederic
D. Kabasinskas v. William R. Haskin, individually, George W. Wesley, III,
individually, U.S. Xpress, Inc., a Tennessee corporation, and U.S. Xpress
Leasing Inc., a Tennessee corporation 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57446, 2011 WL
2118641(D. Neb. 2011). The Defendants’ motion in limine
to preclude three of the Plaintiff’s liability experts was granted. Proffered
experts were disclosed to offer opinions on wheel lugs, pre-trip inspections
and compliance with 49 C.F.R.§§ 392 and 396. The court ruled that these experts
were not qualified to testify under Federal Rule 702.
Barbara Rose; Robert Rose v. Truck Centers, Inc., et al TRW Automotive,
U.S., LLC, Case No. 09-3597. August 6, 2010. 388 Fed. Appx. 528, 2010 WL
3069613 (6th Cir. Ohio 2010). The Defendants moved to preclude
the Plaintiff’s expert, who testified on the process of torquing steering gear
bolts. He opined how failure to do so correctly could affect the integrity of
the trucks steering. Although he was a qualified truck mechanic expert, his
opinion as to how the accident occurred was not reliable under Federal Rule 702.
The court granted the Defendants’ motion and entered summary judgment in their favor.
