Westberry v. Gislaved Gummi AB

• Decision Date: 20 May 1999
• Docket Number: Nos. 98-1540,98-1587,s. 98-1540
• Citation: 178 F.3d 257
• Parties: , Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 15,528 James Curtis WESTBERRY, Plaintiff-Appellee, and Connie Rena Westberry, Plaintiff, v. GISLAVED GUMMI AB, Defendant-Appellant, and Mataki Kemi AB, Defendant. Connie Rena Westberry, Plaintiff-Appellant, and James Curtis Westberry, Plaintiff, v. Gislaved Gummi AB, Defendant-Appellee, and Mataki Kemi AB, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

178 F.3d 257,

Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 15,528

James Curtis WESTBERRY, Plaintiff-Appellee, and Connie Rena Westberry, Plaintiff, v. GISLAVED GUMMI AB, Defendant-Appellant, and Mataki Kemi AB, Defendant.

Connie Rena Westberry, Plaintiff-Appellant, and James Curtis Westberry, Plaintiff, v. Gislaved Gummi AB, Defendant-Appellee, and Mataki Kemi AB, Defendant.

Nos. 98-1540, 98-1587.

United States Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit.

Argued March 3, 1999.

Decided May 20, 1999.

ARGUED: Russell Thomas Burke, Nexsen, Pruet, Jacobs & Pollard, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellant. James William Logan, Jr., Logan, Jolly & Smith, L.L.P., Anderson, South Carolina, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Edward Raymond Moore, III, Nexsen, Pruet, Jacobs & Pollard, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellant. James D. Jolly, Jr., Logan, Jolly & Smith, L.L.P., Anderson, South Carolina; John R. McCravy, III, McCravy Law Firm, Greenwood, South Carolina; Joseph M. Pracht, Pracht & Wyndham, Greenwood, South Carolina, for Appellee.

Before WILKINS and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges, and LEE, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, sitting by designation.

Affirmed by published opinion. Judge WILKINS wrote the opinion, in which Judge WILLIAMS and Judge LEE joined.

WILKINS, Circuit Judge:

James Curtis and Connie Rena Westberry brought this action against Gislaved Gummi AB (GGAB), claiming that GGAB was liable under South Carolina law for damages the Westberrys suffered as a result of the company's failure to warn of the danger of the talcum powder (talc) lubricant GGAB placed on rubber gaskets it manufactured. GGAB presently appeals the judgment against it following a jury verdict in favor of the Westberrys, and Mrs. Westberry cross appeals the refusal of the district court to grant an additur or a new trial on the issue of her damages. We affirm.

I.

GGAB manufactured rubber products, including rubber gaskets used in window frames. Westberry's employer purchased gaskets produced by GGAB for use in manufacturing skylights and windows in the Greenwood, South Carolina plant where Westberry was employed. Because the rubber gaskets were difficult to handle without a protective lubricant, GGAB applied a coating of talc to the gaskets prior to shipping.

Westberry's first duties in the plant involved working on a production line adjacent to the area where the GGAB gaskets were cut. In January 1994, he changed to the position of gasket cutter, which required him to remove the gaskets from their boxes and to place them in the cutting machine. Although the evidence was conflicting, Westberry testified that these duties brought him into contact with high concentrations of airborne talc. Westberry received no warning that talc could be dangerous, and he wore no protective gear when performing his duties as a gasket cutter.

Following his change to the position of gasket cutter, Westberry began to experience unrelenting sinus problems. He was hospitalized for four days in July 1994 with a severe sinus infection and was treated with antibiotics by his physician, Dr. W. David Isenhower, Jr. Beginning in September 1994, Westberry underwent several sinus surgeries in an attempt to alleviate his sinus pain, including a procedure in which his frontal sinuses were obliterated.

Westberry brought the present action against GGAB, claiming that its failure to warn him of the dangers of breathing airborne talc proximately caused the aggravation of his pre-existing sinus condition. He alleged causes of action sounding in strict liability, breach of warranty, and negligence. Following a trial at which Westberry's treating physician, Dr. Isenhower, provided the principal evidence of causation, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Westberry. Although GGAB challenges the judgment on a number of grounds, the only one warranting extended discussion is its contention that the district court abused its discretion in admitting the opinion testimony of Dr. Isenhower concerning the cause of Westberry's sinus problems.

II.

The introduction of expert opinion testimony is governed by Federal Rule of Evidence 702, which provides:

If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert ... may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise.

Expert testimony is admissible under Rule 702, then, if it concerns (1) scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge that (2) will aid the jury or other trier of fact to understand or resolve a fact at issue. See Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharms., Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 592, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993). The first prong of this inquiry necessitates an examination of whether the reasoning or methodology underlying the expert's proffered opinion is reliable--that is, whether it is supported by adequate validation to render it trustworthy. See id. at 590 & n. 9, 113 S.Ct. 2786. The second prong of the inquiry requires an analysis of whether the opinion is relevant to the facts at issue. See id. at 591-92, 113 S.Ct. 2786. Thus, an expert's testimony is admissible under Rule 702 if it "rests on a reliable foundation and is relevant." Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, --- U.S. ----, 119 S.Ct. 1167, 1171, 143 L.Ed.2d 238 (1999) (internal quotation marks omitted).

A district court considering the admissibility of expert testimony exercises a gate keeping function to assess whether the proffered evidence is sufficiently reliable and relevant. See id. at 1174. The inquiry to be undertaken by the district court is "a flexible one" focusing on the "principles and methodology" employed by the expert, not on the conclusions reached. Daubert, 509 U.S. at 594-95, 113 S.Ct. 2786. In making its initial determination of whether proffered testimony is sufficiently reliable, the court has broad latitude to consider whatever factors bearing on validity that the court finds to be useful; the particular factors will depend upon the unique circumstances of the expert testimony involved. See Kumho Tire Co., 119 S.Ct. at 1175-76. ¹ The court, however, should be conscious of two guiding, and sometimes competing, principles. On the one hand, the court should be mindful that Rule 702 was intended to liberalize the introduction of relevant expert evidence. See Cavallo v. Star Enter., 100 F.3d 1150, 1158-59 (4th Cir.1996). And, the court need not determine that the expert testimony a litigant seeks to offer into evidence is irrefutable or certainly correct. See id. As with all other admissible evidence, expert testimony is subject to being tested by "[v]igorous cross-examination, presentation of contrary evidence, and careful instruction on the burden of proof." Daubert, 509 U.S. at 596, 113 S.Ct. 2786. On the other hand, the court must recognize that due to the difficulty of evaluating their testimony, expert witnesses have the potential to "be both powerful and quite misleading." Id. at 595, 113 S.Ct. 2786 (internal quotation marks omitted). And, given the potential persuasiveness of expert testimony, proffered evidence that has a greater potential to mislead than to enlighten should be excluded. See United States v. Dorsey, 45 F.3d 809, 815-16 (4th Cir.1995).

This court reviews the decision of a district court to admit or exclude evidence for an abuse of discretion. See General Elec. Co. v. Joiner, 522 U.S. 136, 139, 118 S.Ct. 512, 139 L.Ed.2d 508 (1997). A district court abuses its discretion if its conclusion is guided by erroneous legal principles, see Koon v. United States, 518 U.S. 81, 100, 116 S.Ct. 2035, 135 L.Ed.2d 392 (1996), or rests upon a clearly erroneous factual finding, see United States v. Barber, 119 F.3d 276, 283(4th Cir.) (en banc), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 118 S.Ct. 457, 139 L.Ed.2d 391 (1997). Further, even if a district court applies the correct legal principles to adequately supported facts, the discretion of the trial court is not boundless and subject to automatic affirmance. See Wilson v. Volkswagen of Am., Inc., 561 F.2d 494, 506 (4th Cir.1977) (noting "that an appellate court would be remiss in [its] duties if [it] chose only to rubber stamp ... orders of lower courts" (internal quotation marks omitted) (first & second alterations in original)). This court is obligated to review the record and reasons offered by the district court and to reverse if the "court has a definite and firm conviction that the court below committed a clear error of judgment in the conclusion it reached upon a weighing of the relevant factors." Id. With these principles in mind, we turn to a consideration of the decision of the district court to permit Dr. Isenhower to testify that in his opinion the sinus problems experienced by Westberry were caused by the inhalation of airborne talc in the workplace.

A.

GGAB argues that the district court erred in failing to undertake a determination of the reliability and relevance of the evidence as required by Rule 702 because it believed such an analysis was applicable only to novel scientific opinions. We agree. As the Supreme Court recently made clear, the obligation of a district court to determine whether expert testimony is reliable and relevant prior to admission applies to all expert testimony. See Kumho Tire Co., 119 S.Ct. at 1174. Nevertheless, because we can affirm the evidentiary ruling of the district court on a ground different from that employed below, we consider whether Dr. Isenhower's testimony was sufficiently reliable and relevant to warrant admission. See Dorsey, 45 F.3d at 814 (concluding that decision of district court to exclude expert testimony was proper despite failure of district court to conduct analysis of reliability and relevance required by Rule 702).

B.

GGAB contends that Dr. Isenhower's testimony was inadmissible because it was not based on reliable scientific methodology. This is so, it argues, because Dr. Isenhower had no...