Miller v. Brass Rail Tavern, Inc.
| Decision Date | 24 August 1995 |
| Citation | 664 A.2d 525,541 Pa. 474 |
| Parties | Ronald A. MILLER, Sr., Administrator of the Estate of Ronald A. Miller, Jr., Appellant, v. The BRASS RAIL TAVERN, INC., A Pennsylvania Corporation and Thomas E. McMaster, Appellees. |
| Court | Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
Robert H. Lugg, Lock Haven, for R.A. Miller.
Paul Welch, Lock Haven, for Brass Rail Tavern.
J. David Smith, Williamsport, for T.E. McMaster.
Before NIX, C.J., and FLAHERTY, ZAPPALA, CAPPY, CASTILLE and MONTEMURO, JJ.
Ronald A. Miller, Sr., Appellant, administrator of the estate of Ronald A. Miller, Jr., appeals an order of the Superior Court which affirmed the judgment of the Clinton County Court of Common Pleas following a verdict in favor of The Brass Rail Tavern, Inc. and Thomas E. McMaster, Appellees. We granted allocatur in this case in order to address whether a non-physician coroner can testify as to time of death.
This action, brought pursuant to the Dram Shop Act, 1 was commenced after Ronald A. Miller, Jr. was killed in an automobile accident. During a non-jury trial, it was established that on July 8, 1989, the day prior to the accident, Ronald, Jr. began consuming alcoholic beverages around 12:00 noon while riding all terrain vehicles with two of his friends. After spending the afternoon together, Ronald, Jr. and his friends went to a local tavern in Beech Creek called Bobby's Place. The group remained at Bobby's Place for approximately one hour, and, in that time, Ronald, Jr. consumed at least two beers. Thereafter, and having been joined by yet another companion, the group of friends decided to proceed to The Brass Rail Tavern in Lock Haven. However, before they left Bobby's Place, they purchased a six-pack of beer which they consumed, in part, while en route to The Brass Rail.
They arrived at The Brass Rail at approximately 10:30 p.m., and again began to consume alcoholic beverages. Around 1:30 a.m. on July 9, 1989, the bartender announced the last opportunity to purchase alcohol. At that point, the group decided to return home. Before actually leaving the tavern, Ronald, Jr. attempted to buy more beer. However, because last call had already been given, his request was refused. Thereupon, the group set out to return to the Beech Creek area, but based on Ronald, Jr.'s inability to drive safely, another member of the group, Kevin Peters, drove Ronald, Jr.'s vehicle. Kevin drove to his house first, and, at that point, Ronald, Jr. resumed operation of the vehicle. Ronald, Jr. dropped his other two friends off between 2:15 a.m. and 2:30 a.m., but before parting company with them, Ronald, Jr. indicated that he intended to return to The Brass Rail Tavern. Some time later, Ronald, Jr. was involved in the tragic accident which resulted in his death.
At trial, Appellant called the Clinton County Coroner, Dean Wetzler, to testify based upon his investigations at the scene of the accident. At that point, Appellees requested an offer of proof with respect to the testimony of the coroner. After Appellant provided the court with a synopsis of the coroner's expected testimony, Appellees objected to that portion of the coroner's testimony which would otherwise constitute expert opinion. Appellees based their objection on Appellant's failure to identify the coroner as an expert witness in pre-trial interrogatories. The trial court determined that pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 4003.5(b) the coroner would not be permitted to testify to expert matters, and more specifically, to the time of death. In addition to the discovery issue, the trial judge also addressed a competency issue, concluding that only an individual with a medical degree could render an opinion with regard to the time of death. Therefore, the trial judge excluded the coroner's testimony on that basis as well.
At the conclusion of the trial, the trial court ruled against Appellant. Even though the judge concluded that Appellant had proven by a fair preponderance of the evidence that The Brass Rail Tavern had served Ronald, Jr. while he was visibly intoxicated, the court concluded that Appellant had failed to establish a causal link between the negligence of the Appellees and the accident which resulted in Ronald, Jr.'s death. Specifically, the court determined that
[Appellant] has argued that a fair preponderance of the evidence established that the accident occurred at 3:00 A.M. which is close enough in time to Ronald's consumption of alcoholic beverages at the Brass Rail to link his high level of intoxication at the time of death with [Appellee's] negligence. The difficulty with this argument is that there is no evidence from which the Court can infer that the accident occurred at 3:00 A.M., or for that matter at 4:00 A.M., 5:00 A.M., 6:00 A.M., or even 7:00 A.M. The further the time of the accident gets removed from the time Ronald consumed intoxicants at the Brass Rail (no later than 1:30 A.M.), the weaker the causation link becomes.
The Court is mindful that [Appellant] attempted to establish the time of death through Coroner Wetzler as 3:00 A.M. which would have been within an hour of the time that he left off his passengers. However, Coroner Wetzler was a non-medical witness and would not have been competent to attempt to establish the time of death in the fashion in which [Appellant] desired.
Miller v. The Brass Rail Tavern, Inc. and Thomas McMaster, No. 759-89 Civil, slip op. at 16-17 (CCP Clinton, July 22, 1992).
The Superior Court affirmed, concluding that
Previous cases in which a coroner was allowed to testify concerning the time of a decedent's death involved a coroner who was a physician. (citations omitted). Appellant has cited none, nor are we aware of any, in which a lay coroner has been found qualified to render an opinion as to time of death.
In this appeal, Appellant argues that formal academic instruction is not necessary as a prerequisite to the admission of expert testimony on the time of death, and, in that regard, the Superior Court erred in concluding that the trial court had not abused its discretion. Furthermore, he argues that the trial court also abused its discretion by refusing to permit the county coroner to testify based on an alleged pre-trial discovery violation. We agree.
Initially, we note that since the Superior Court did not address the discovery issue, focusing instead on the coroner's competency to testify as an expert, we shall begin our analysis with the question of whether Coroner Wetzler was qualified to render expert testimony regarding the time of death. 2
While reviewing this question, a majority of the Superior Court panel cited two Pennsylvania cases in which a coroner was permitted to testify as an expert witness with regard to the time of death: Commonwealth v. Lewis, 472 Pa. 235, 372 A.2d 399 (1977) and Commonwealth v. Johnson, 265 Pa. 491, 109 A. 218 (1920). In both of those cases, however, the coroner was also a physician. Consequently, based on its failure to find any authority wherein a non-physician was permitted to render an opinion on the time of death, the Superior Court affirmed the trial court's decision to exclude the testimony. The court held:
We find that on the basis of the record before it, the lower court did not err in finding that Wetzler was not qualified to give an opinion on time of death. Appellant did not sustain his burden in showing that Wetzler's education or experience was such that he had a responsible pretension to specialized knowledge in the area under investigation. Although he testified that he had determined time of death previously, he did not indicate the number of cases in which he had done so. He did not explain the methodology he used, his basis of knowledge, his investigative techniques, nor his background in this area of forensics. His credentials to render an opinion as to time of death were not established. The lower court did not err in excluding his testimony on this basis.
The Brass Rail Tavern, 434 Pa.Super. at 388, 643 A.2d at 696.
We disagree, and, in so concluding, find Appellant's argument and the well reasoned dissenting opinion of Judge Wieand persuasive. It is well established in this Commonwealth that the standard for qualification of an expert witness is a liberal one. The test to be applied when qualifying an expert witness is whether the witness has any reasonable pretension to specialized knowledge on the subject under investigation. If he does, he may testify and the weight to be given to such testimony is for the trier of fact to determine. Commonwealth v. Gonzalez, 519 Pa. 116, 128, 546 A.2d 26, 31 (1988); Kuisis v. Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corp., 457 Pa. 321, 338, 319 A.2d 914, 924 (1974); Moodie v. Westinghouse Electric Corp., 367 Pa. 493, 501, 80 A.2d 734, 738 (1951). It is also well established that a witness may be qualified to render an expert opinion based on training and experience. Rutter v. Northeastern Beaver County School District, 496 Pa. 590, 598, 437 A.2d 1198, 1202 (1981) (plurality opinion). Formal education on the subject matter of the testimony is not required, see Reardon v. Meehan, 424 Pa. 460, 464, 227 A.2d 667, 670 (1967); Churbuck v. Union Railroad Company, 380 Pa. 181, 110 A.2d 210 (1955); McDaniel v. Merck, Sharp & Dohme, 367 Pa.Super. 600, 608, 533 A.2d 436, 440 (1987), allocatur denied, 520 Pa. 589, 551 A.2d 215 (1988); Gottfried v. American Can Co., 339 Pa.Super. 403, 489 A.2d 222 (1985); Commonwealth v. Daniels, 280 Pa.Super. 278, 286-87, 421 A.2d 721, 726 (1980), nor is it necessary that an expert be a licensed medical practitioner to testify with respect to organic matters. Simmons v. Mullen, 231 Pa.Super. 199, 331 A.2d 892 (1974). It is not a necessary prerequisite that the expert be possessed of all of...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Commonwealth v. Baez
...an opinion based on training and experience; formal education on the subject matter is not required. Miller v. Brass Rail Tavern, Inc., 541 Pa. 474, 480-81, 664 A.2d 525, 528 (1995). Here, during the guilt phase of appellant's trial, Dr. Mihalakis was qualified and testified as a forensic p......
-
Wexler v. Hecht
...whether the witness has any reasonable pretension to specialized knowledge on the subject under investigation. Miller v. Brass Rail Tavern, 541 Pa. 474, 664 A.2d 525 (1995). George v. Ellis, 2003 PA Super 121, 820 A.2d 815, 817 The determination of whether a witness is a qualified expert in......
- Freed v. Geisinger Med. Ctr.
-
Com. v. United States Mineral Products Co.
...PCBs or PCB abatement. Our Supreme Court summarized the law regarding the qualification of expert witnesses in Miller v. Brass Rail Tavern, 541 Pa. 474, 480-81, 664 A.2d 525 528 (1995), as It is well established in this Commonwealth that the standard for qualification of an expert witness i......