In re Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., Tires Prod. Liab. Litig., Master File No. IP 00-9373-C-B/S (S.D. Ind. 12/19/2002)
| Decision Date | 19 December 2002 |
| Docket Number | Individual Case No. IP 01-5298-C-B/S.,MDL No. 1373.,Master File No. IP 00-9373-C-B/S. |
| Parties | In re: BRIDGESTONE/FIRESTONE, INC., TIRES PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION. THIS ORDER RELATES TO: MARTIN ZACHARY and JEAN ZACHARY as parents of JESSE MATT ZACHARY, and MARTIN ZACHARY as Administrator of the Estate of JESSE MATT ZACHARY Plaintiffs, v. BRIDGESTONE/FIRESTONE, INC. and FORD MOTOR COMPANY Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Indiana |
Victor Manuel Diaz Jr Podhurst Orseck Josefsberg & Eaton City National Bank, Miami, FL.
Mike Eidson, Colson Hicks Eidson, Gables, FL.
Irwin B Levin Cohen & Malad, Indianapolis, IN.
William E Winingham Wilson Kehoe & Winingham, Indianapolis, IN.
John H Beisner O'Melveny & Myers, Washington, DC.
Daniel P Byron Bingham McHale, Indianapolis, IN.
Mark Herrmann Jones Day Reavis & Pogue, Avenue Cleveland, OH.
Thomas S Kilbane Squire Sanders & Dempsey, Cleveland, OH.
Mark Merkle, Krieg Devault, Indianapolis, IN.
Randall Riggs Locke Reynolds, Indianapolis, IN.
Colin P Smith Holland & Knight, Chicago, IL.
Thomas G Stayton Baker & Daniels, Indianapolis, IN.
ENTRY GRANTING FIRESTONE'S MOTION TO EXCLUDE EXPERT TESTIMONY OF ALLEN EBERHARDT AND GRANTING FIRESTONE'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Jesse Matt Zachary was killed in an automobile accident while riding as a passenger in a 1999 Ford Explorer, manufactured by Ford Motor Company ("Ford"), equipped with tires manufactured by Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. ("Firestone"), and driven by Zachary's friend, Matthew Stanalonis.
Plaintiffs filed suit against Ford and Firestone, seeking compensatory and punitive damages based on a variety of tort and breach of warranty claims. Firestone moved for summary judgment as to all of Plaintiffs' claims. Plaintiffs conceded summary judgment on four of the claims, and this entry addresses the remaining claims. For the reasons explained in detail below, we GRANT Firestone's Motion to Exclude the expert testimony of Dr. Allen Eberhardt,1 and we GRANT Firestone's Motion for Summary Judgment.
At approximately 11 p.m. on February 26, 1999, Matthew Stanalonis and Jesse Zachary were traveling in a Ford Explorer (equipped with Firestone Wilderness AT tires)2 on Town Center Road in Kennesaw, Georgia. Def.'s Statement of Undisputed Facts ¶¶ 1,5. Town Center Road has a posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour. Id. ¶ 8; Pls.' Resp. to Def.'s Statement of Undisputed Facts ¶ 8. Road construction was being completed on either side of the roadway, and at least one witness to the scene observed that loose gravel was present on the roadway. Def.'s Statement of Undisputed Facts ¶ 14. Plaintiffs concede that the Stanalonis vehicle was traveling in excess of the posted speed limit. Id. ¶ 10; Pls.' Resp. to Def.'s Statement of Undisputed Facts ¶ 10. Eyewitness accounts indicate that when Stanalonis swerved to avoid another vehicle, his vehicle began to skid sideways and then roll over. Def.'s Statement of Undisputed Facts ¶¶ 36, 44. Before rolling over, the vehicle began to "fishtail," swerving side to side, until it eventually began yawing. Id. ¶ 27. The parties agree that, at some point in the course of the accident, a tire on the Stanalonis vehicle "debeaded," that is, it pushed away from the rim on which it was seated; the parties also agree that this alleged tire failure played no part in the initial loss of control. Id. ¶¶ 29, 46. Thomas Langley, Plaintiffs' proffered expert in accident reconstruction, estimated that the Stanalonis vehicle was traveling at a speed of 60-65 miles per hour before Stanalonis lost control of the vehicle. Id. ¶ 26.
In the course of the vehicle rollover, Jesse Zachary was ejected from the vehicle and thrown into the westbound lane of Town Center Road, and later died from the blunt head trauma he suffered in the accident. Complaint ¶ 13. Matthew Stanalonis was subsequently charged with vehicular homicide, and, on September 25, 2000, pleaded guilty to those charges. Def.'s Statement of Undisputed Facts ¶¶ 63-64. Plaintiffs filed suit against Ford and Firestone on February 23, 2001. The tire at issue in this case has not been made available for inspection, because on June 6, 2001, Plaintiffs relinquished control over it, along with the Explorer, pursuant to the Ford recall. Pls.' Resp. to Defs.' Statement of Undisputed Facts ¶¶ 2-3.
In preparation for this litigation, Plaintiffs retained the services of Dr. Allen Eberhardt, a proffered expert in tire mechanics and tire failure analysis. Dr. Eberhardt developed his own testing model to determine the inflation level and lateral force at which the Wilderness AT tires would debead. This testing method differs in certain respects from the more widely utilized Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards ("FMVSS") "Bead Push Off" testing model, in that it employs a wooden fixture or "shoe," shaped differently from and lacking the curviture along the axis of the tire of the three-dimensional aluminum fixture used in the FMVSS test. Eberhardt Depo. at 60-61, 121-23; Aff. of James D. Gardener ¶ 8. Dr. Eberhardt used this method to test the effect of applying lateral force to a single Wilderness AT tire (not one of those from the Stanalonis vehicle) at varying inflation levels. Dr. Eberhardt's result in the single trial demonstrated that when the subject tire was inflated to 26 pounds per square inch ("PSI") and exposed to a certain lateral force, the tire would debead more readily than when the same tire was inflated to 32 PSI. Aff. of Allen C. Eberhardt, App. F. Based on these results, Dr. Eberhardt concluded that the underinflation of a tire on the Stanalonis vehicle caused the tire to debead when exposed to the lateral force of the sideways skid, and subsequently caused the Explorer to trip and roll.3
Defendant Firestone moves to exclude the affidavit and any expert testimony by Plaintiffs' proffered expert, Dr. Allen C. Eberhardt. Dr. Eberhardt concludes in his affidavit that the underinflation of a Wilderness AT tire led to the debeadment of that tire when the vehicle entered a sideways yaw, causing the vehicle to trip and roll. Dr. Eberhardt bases this conclusion on tests he designed and conducted on a single Wilderness AT tire, not one of the tires with which the Stanalonis vehicle was actually equipped. Firestone contends that Dr. Eberhardt's expert testimony does not satisfy the criteria for admissibility under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993).
The Federal Rules of Evidence provide that, if scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence and determine the facts in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of opinion or otherwise. Fed.R.Evid. 702; see also U.S. v. Conn, 297 F.3d 549, 555 (7th Cir. 2002). Under the Daubert framework, the court must engage in a two-part analysis. Chapman v. Maytag Corp., 297 F.3d 682, 686 (7th Cir. 2002). First, it must determine whether the expert is qualified and will testify to reliable scientific knowledge. The reliability of scientific knowledge is assessed in relation to a non-exclusive list of factors: 1) whether a theory or technique can be or has been tested; 2) whether a theory or technique has been subjected to peer review and publication; 3) the known and potential rate of error; and 4) the "general acceptance" of the theory or technique. Id., citing Daubert, 509 U.S. at 593-94. Second, after a preliminary assessment of the scientific validity of the evidence to be offered, the court must determine whether the testimony will assist the trier of fact in understanding the evidence or deciding a fact at issue. Masters v. Hesston Corp., 291 F.3d 985, 991 (7th Cir. 2002). If an expert's testimony is not based on reliable scientific knowledge, or if it is based on such knowledge but fails to relate to any material facts, then it is not useful and, therefore, not relevant. The proponent of the evidence bears the burden of establishing its admissibility by a preponderance of the evidence. Daubert, 509 U.S. 579 (1993); Kumho Tire Co., Ltd., v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137 (1999).
Here, the evidence suggests that Dr. Eberhardt's knowledge, training, skill and experience qualify him to testify as an expert on the issues for which his testimony has been offered. His graduate degrees from North Carolina State University in mechanical engineering were accomplished by dissertations on tires — specifically noise reduction and vibration of heavy duty truck tires. Aff of Allen C. Eberhardt ¶ 2. Starting in the mid-1970s, Dr. Eberhardt began conducting tire failure analyses, in many cases on Firestone Wilderness AT tires like the ones at issue in this case. Id. ¶ 6. In 1988-89, Dr. Eberhardt published multiple peer-reviewed or technical articles relating to tire mechanics, inflation, and pavement contacts. Id., App. A. In recent years, he attests to having conducted numerous tire failure analyses on behalf of Nationwide Insurance Company, many of which involved Wilderness AT tires mounted on Ford Explorers. Id. ¶ 7. These analyses typically involve issues of construction, design, maintenance, inflation, deflection, load, and stress — issues similar to those involved in the present case. Id.
Difficulties arise, however, in determining the reliability of Dr. Eberhardt's testing methodology. Firestone contends, and Plaintiffs do not dispute, that in preparation for this litigation, Dr. Eberhardt developed his own unique testing model to determine the force at which the Wilderness AT tires would debead. This testing method differs in certain respects from the more widely utilized FMVSS "Bead Push Off" testing model, in that as we have mentioned...
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