Opinion ID: 537712
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Erie Doctrine

Text: 24 Equally unavailing is the Ealys' contention that the Erie doctrine requires this court to follow the D.C. Court of Appeals decision in Oxendine I. That Bendectin case, which was litigated in the D.C. Superior Court, resulted in a verdict for the plaintiff. The trial judge then granted a judgment n.o.v. for Merrell, but the D.C.Court of Appeals reversed the trial judge and reinstated the jury verdict. Oxendine I, 506 A.2d 1100 (D.C.1986). The jury verdict was affirmed on other grounds in Oxendine v. Merrell-Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 563 A.2d 330 (D.C.1989) (Oxendine II ). The same four types of data relied upon by the Ealys were involved in the Oxendine case. The court in Oxendine I conceded that each individual class of data showed little or nothing when viewed separately from one another, but reasoned that their sum formed a mosaic greater than its parts, providing a foundation for Dr. Done's opinion that Bendectin caused appellant's birth defects. Oxendine I, 506 A.2d at 1100. 25 The Richardson court specifically rejected the argument that it was required to follow Oxendine I because it was sitting in a diversity action on a state tort claim: 26 [T]he Richardsons' Erie challenge must be rejected. We note that the Richardsons' argument ignores the differences in the evidence presented in the two cases. Moreover, the Erie doctrine applies to state substantive, not procedural, law to be followed by federal courts exercising diversity jurisdiction.... Because the admissibility of testimony, which is governed by the Federal Rules of Evidence, is the crux of our decision in this case ... the Richardsons' argument must be rejected. 27 Richardson, 857 F.2d at 825 n. 9 (citations omitted). As our discussion thus far has shown, this case, like Richardson, turns on the admissibility of the expert testimony. Unfortunately for the Ealys, the only evidence they have on the issue of scientific causation is the testimony of their experts. Once that testimony is deemed inadmissible, it is self-evident that the evidence is insufficient to support a verdict for the plaintiffs. Contrary to the Ealys' assertions, however, this court is enforcing a procedural rule governing admissibility; it is not supplanting substantive state rules on the sufficiency of evidence. 28 In any event, the Oxendine I court's reasoning would not be directly exportable to the Ealys' cause because, as with Richardson, there are material differences between the evidence in each case. Oxendine I was tried in 1983, Richardson in 1986, and the Ealys' case in 1987. In the intervening years, two large epidemiological studies were published which found no association between Bendectin and birth defects.