Opinion ID: 895183
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Court of Appeals' Review

Text: The court of appeals noted that Whirlpool challenged the legal sufficiency of the evidence as to design defect and that Whirlpool's argument, in part, was that the Camachos' expert testimony was not relevant and reliable. 251 S.W.3d at 95-96. The court then concluded, however, that Whirlpool's first three issues  challenges to relevance and reliability of evidence as to design defect, admissibility of a Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) report, and admissibility of an exemplar dryer  dealt with admissibility of evidence and reviewed those issues accordingly. Id. at 96. It then determined that the analytical gap test is the appropriate way to analyze the Camachos' expert testimony because such testimony in the instant case is based on the experience of the testifying experts. Id. The court held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting Clayton's testimony. Id. at 98-100. The appeals court then considered Whirlpool's contention that it conclusively disproved the validity of Clayton's opinions for legal sufficiency, but did not otherwise review Whirlpool's challenge to the design defect evidence for legal sufficiency. Id. at 100; see City of Keller, 168 S.W.3d at 827 (noting that a legal sufficiency issue will be sustained if the record reveals one of the following: (1) the complete absence of a vital fact, (2) the court is barred by rules of law or of evidence from giving weight to the only evidence offered to prove a vital fact, (3) the evidence offered to prove a vital fact is no more than a scintilla, or (4) the evidence established conclusively the opposite of the vital fact). We disagree with the Camachos' assertion that the court of appeals effectively performed a proper legal sufficiency review by determining whether Whirlpool conclusively disproved that the fire occurred as Clayton testified it did. Evaluating whether expert testimony has been conclusively disproved by the opposing party is not the same as considering whether the proponent of the testimony satisfied its burden to prove the testimony is relevant and reliable. See Mack Trucks, 206 S.W.3d at 578; Volkswagen, 159 S.W.3d at 904; Robinson, 923 S.W.2d at 557. The proponent must satisfy its burden regardless of the quality or quantity of the opposing party's evidence on the issue and regardless of whether the opposing party attempts to conclusively prove the expert testimony is wrong. Witnesses offered as experts in an area or subject will invariably have experience in that field. If courts merely accept experience as a substitute for proof that an expert's opinions are reliable and then only examine the testimony for analytical gaps in the expert's logic and opinions, an expert can effectively insulate his or her conclusions from meaningful review by filling gaps in the testimony with almost any type of data or subjective opinions. See Gammill, 972 S.W.2d at 722. We have recognized, and do recognize, that some subjects do not lend themselves to scientific testing and scientific methodology. Id. at 724; see Ford Motor Co. v. Ledesma, 242 S.W.3d 32, 39 (Tex.2007) (recognizing that the Robinson factors do not readily lend themselves to a review of expert testimony in automobile accident cases). But given the facts in this case, the analytical gap test was not the only factor that should have been considered. For example, although Clayton had extensive experience in fire investigation and testified that he relied on that experience in reaching his opinions, much of the evidence offered by both parties centered on testing: lint ignition tests, reports of dryer tests by the CPSC, and tests Whirlpool performed on clothes dryers. That evidence corresponds to the first reliability factor discussed in Robinson  the extent to which a theory and its parts have been or could be subject to testing. See Robinson, 923 S.W.2d at 557. Further, Clayton testified that some of his opinions were peer reviewed  another factor we listed in Robinson. See id. This is not one of the few cases in which appellate review of expert evidence should be limited to either an analysis focused solely on Robinson -like factors or solely on an analytical gap test. We agree with Whirlpool that proper appellate legal sufficiency review pursuant to Whirlpool's challenge requires evaluating Clayton's testimony by considering both Robinson -type factors and examining for analytical gaps in his testimony.