Opinion ID: 1136285
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Jackson County Ordinances and Other Industry Standards

Text: Sumrall proffered the testimony of T.E. Daughdrill that a Jackson County ordinance required that excavations of a certain depth require the approval of a county engineer. There was some question as to the county's enforcement of the ordinance, and the trial court excluded Mr. Daughdrill's testimony about it because he was not qualified to testify about when the ordinance was enforced by the county and when it was not. Sumrall argues that the trial court erred in excluding evidence of the ordinance and other industry standards which he identified neither at trial nor in his brief. Sumrall offers no argument as to why the trial court erred in this regard and cites no authority in support thereof, instead confining his argument to the admissibility of OSHA regulations. In any event, the qualification of an expert witness to testify is within the sound discretion of the trial court, whose determination will not be reversed by this Court absent an abuse of that discretion. West v. Sanders Clinic for Women, P.A., 661 So.2d 714, 720 (Miss. 1995); Cooper v. State, 639 So.2d 1320, 1325 (Miss. 1994). We find the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding Mr. Daughdrill's testimony regarding the Jackson County ordinance due to his lack of qualification to testify about when the ordinance was enforced.