Opinion ID: 6317316
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: standard of review

Text: This Court reviews the district court’s decision to exclude the testimony of a party’s expert witnesses for an abuse of discretion. Pride v. BIC Corp., 218 F.3d 566, 575 (6th Cir. 2000). A trial court must be satisfied that a proffered expert is qualified to testify on the technical subject matter at issue such that an expert’s expertise is sufficiently reliable to assist the trier of fact in disposing of the relevant issues. Sigler v. Am. Honda Motor Co., 532 F.3d 469, 478 (6th Cir. 2008). To this end, while not limiting the admission of relevant evidence, the trial court must 5 They do not appeal the partial grant of the motions to exclude experts Sero and Bloch. Nos. 20-5690/5693 Hill, et al. v. Kia Motors Am., Inc., et al. Page 8 insure that an expert uses in the courtroom the “same level of intellectual rigor that characterizes the practice of an expert in the relevant field.” Best v. Lowe’s Home Ctrs., 563 F.3d 171, 177 (6th Cir. 2009) (quoting Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137, 152 (1999). A trial court’s assessment of an expert’s testimony is limited “solely [to] principles and methodology,” so “the conclusions that they generate” should not affect the court’s conclusion. Daubert, 509 U.S. at 595. When reviewing a district court’s decision to exclude expert testimony under this standard, this Court reverses “only if . . . firmly convinced of a mistake that affects substantial rights and amounts to more than harmless error.” Pressman v. Franklin Nat’l Bank, 384 F.3d 182, 187 (6th Cir. 2004) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).