London v. MAC Corp. of America
| Decision Date | 13 February 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 94-30239,94-30239 |
| Parties | Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 14,151 Cleveland LONDON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. MAC CORPORATION OF AMERICA, Defendant-Appellee. Summary Calendar. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
Arthur J. Cobb, Jr., Paula Cobb, Baton Rouge, LA, for appellant.
William H. Syll, Jr., William Elliott Wynne, Bastian & Wynne, New Orleans, LA, for appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.
Before SMITH, EMILIO M. GARZA and PARKER, Circuit Judges.
Plaintiff-Appellant Cleveland London ("London") appeals the district court's granting of Defendant-Appellee MAC Corporation of America's ("MAC") motion for judgment as a matter of law on the ground that there was no evidentiary basis for the jury to find that MAC should have reasonably anticipated that the gearbox cover on the shredder MAC designed and manufactured would be used as a work station. London also appeals the court's ruling that London's expert was not qualified to give opinion testimony on the design of the shredder. We affirm.
In September 1989, MAC sold and shipped a Saturn Shredder consisting of the shredder head and the electrical control panel to Schuylkill Metals Corporation ("Schuylkill") in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The construction department at Schuylkill installed the shredder, using its own equipment to build a platform, frame, feed conveyor and hopper to go with the shredder. Sometime later Schuylkill added an access platform and an overhead shed to facilitate the operation of the shredder.
A service technician from MAC was present at the start-up of the shredder. No problems were reported at start-up, except for a broken sprocket on the conveyor belt built by Schuylkill. In October 1989, Schuylkill contacted MAC's service department about two hydraulic leaks in the shredder. A service technician from MAC inspected the shredder and made the necessary repairs.
On April 23, 1991, London, a trained employee at Schuylkill, was operating the shredder when some of the material he was shredding clogged in the feed hopper of the shredder and caused the shredder to jam. London turned the shredder off, climbed over the motor drive of the shredder and stepped on top of the gear box cover to reach the clogged material. The shredder was elevated about ten feet off the ground. While attempting to dislodge the clogged material, London lost his balance, fell to the ground and severely injured his back.
London filed suit against MAC under the Louisiana Product Liability Law for designing the shredder without safe access to clogged materials and for failure to warn. At trial, the district court judge ruled that At the close of the case, MAC moved for judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(a). The district court granted the motion, concluding that there was no legally sufficient evidentiary basis that would allow the jury to find that MAC should have reasonably anticipated that the gearbox cover on the shredder would be used as a work station. The court subsequently entered judgment in favor of MAC and dismissed the suit.
London's expert, a safety consultant, was not qualified to give an opinion regarding the design of the shredder because he was not an engineer and refused to allow him to testify.
London contends that the district court erred in refusing to allow his expert witness, Michael Frenzel ("Frenzel"), to be qualified as an expert or to testify. He argues that in accordance with Federal Rule of Evidence 702, Frenzel had specialized knowledge with regard to the safety of the shredder itself, whether the shredder could be operated safely and if it could not be operated safely, how to make it safe.
The district court is given wide discretion to admit or exclude expert testimony under Rule 702, and any challenges to the court's ruling are reviewed under the "manifestly erroneous" standard. Edmonds v. Illinois Cent. Gulf R. Co., 910 F.2d 1284, 1287 (5th Cir.1990). The district court found that because Frenzel was not an engineer he did not have the expertise to address the design of the shredder, how it operates, or the function and use of its parts. Additionally, the court found that what Frenzel could testify to--that it would not be safe to work on top of a gearbox cover ten feet off the ground--was common knowledge. Our review of the record supports the district court's finding. Therefore, we find no manifest error in the court's ruling.
London contends that the district court mistakenly decided factual issues that the Seventh Amendment has decreed should be...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Ellis v. Weasler Engineering
...use of drilling rig racking board because it was commonly known to be dangerous and contrary to industry practice); London v. MAC, 44 F.3d 316 (5th Cir. 1995)(climbing atop a ten-foot high gearbox and standing on its cover while attempting to dislodge clogged material from a shredder was no......
-
Lynd v. Reliance Standard Life Ins. Co.
...the district court must direct a verdict if there can be only one reasonable decision made under the governing law. London v. MAC Corp. of America, 44 F.3d 316 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 829, 116 S.Ct. 99, 133 L.Ed.2d 53 (1995); Boeing v. Shipman, 411 F.2d 365 (5th The District Cour......
-
Trilogy Communications v. Times Fiber Commun.
...defendants, is so strongly in favor of Trilogy that a rational jury could not arrive at a contrary verdict. See London v. MAC Corporation of America, 44 F.3d 316, 318 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 829, 116 S.Ct. 99, 133 L.Ed.2d 53 (1995). Of course, if there is substantial evidence of ......
-
Guillory v. Domtar Industries Inc.
...we review evidentiary decisions for manifest error. United States v. Massey, 58 F.3d 133, 140 (5th Cir.1995); London v. MAC Corp., 44 F.3d 316, 318 (5th Cir.1995). In other words, the district court does not abuse its discretion if the error is merely harmless. Grizzle v. Travelers Health N......