Opinion ID: 2585468
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the opinion testimony of jay pfeiffer

Text: In their petition for review, plaintiffs assert that the trial court properly admitted the opinion testimony of their expert, Jay Pfeiffer, on the cause of the combine fire. Plaintiffs ask this court to reverse the Court of Appeals' decision and affirm the trial court's judgment in their favor. The qualification of an expert witness as well as the admissibility of expert testimony are matters within the broad discretion of the trial court. The admissibility of expert testimony is a matter to be determined by the trial court in the exercise of its discretion. The trial court's determination will not be overturned absent an abuse of such discretion. Olathe Mfg., Inc. v. Browning Mfg., 259 Kan. 735, 762, 915 P.2d 86 (1996). Judicial discretion is abused when judicial action is arbitrary, fanciful, or unreasonable, which is another way of saying that discretion is abused only where no reasonable person would take the view adopted by the trial court. [Citation omitted.] City of Wichita, Kansas v. Eisenring, 269 Kan. 767, 776, 7 P.3d 1248 (2000). Case's principal assertion is that Pfeiffer lacks knowledge, skill, experience, and training in fire investigation and, thus, was not qualified to testify as to the cause of the fire. At trial, Case argued Pfeiffer could not pinpoint the exact cause of the fire that destroyed the combine and that the damage to the combine was the result of plaintiffs' own negligence or fault in failing to properly and adequately maintain the combine. According to Case, Pfeiffer's testimony demonstrates that his training as a mechanical engineer did not provide him with sufficient expertise to opine that leaking hydraulic fluid caused debris to accumulate causing heat to build up sufficient to cause the debris to ignite. Case argues that Pfeiffer's opinion went beyond his knowledge and training and, therefore, that the trial court abused its discretion by allowing him to testify on the cause of the fire. More specifically, Case asserts that Pfeiffer should not have been allowed to testify on the cause of the fire because he failed to determine whether the components in the transmission area could have generated sufficient heat to ignite the hydraulic fluid soaked debris and never tested his theory. Case maintains that Pfeiffer assumed his conclusion that the solenoids or valve became hot enough to cause a fire based on the fact a fire resulted, not based on any special knowledge, skill, experience, or training. Case, however, concedes that Pfeiffer was qualified to testify that he believed there was a leak of hydraulic fluid before the fire started. Plaintiffs claim that Pfeiffer's expert opinion that hydraulic fluid soaked field debris could ignite from heat build-up from the engine components was based on well-recognized principles known to mechanical engineers and other individuals possessing a general scientific background of heat transfer or exchange, i.e., that heat not allowed to properly dissipate will build up. They contend that Case's expert's conclusions were essentially the same as Pfeiffer's, save that Pfeiffer opined that the heat built up under oil soaked chaff, whereas Case's expert believed the heat built up under dry chaff. Plaintiffs maintain that the actual ignition temperatures were irrelevant because, whatever they were, there is no question they were reached. They argue that Case's complaints concerning Pfeiffer's testimony go to the weight given the testimony, not to the witness' qualifications. According to plaintiffs, there is no question that Pfeiffer was qualified to testify about a preexisting oil leak and, once jurors accepted his position as to the leak, it was logical and reasonable for them to conclude he was correct about the oil soaked chaff igniting. Plaintiffs take issue with the Court of Appeals' ruling, first noting that the panel did not specifically address Pfeiffer's background. In addition, plaintiffs assert that the panel's restrictive ruling was in contravention of appellate precedent giving the trial court considerable discretion in determining whether to permit expert testimony, opening a floodgate of appeals regarding the qualifications of expert witnesses. We agree. As a prerequisite for the testimony of [any] witness on a relevant or material matter, there must be evidence that he or she has personal knowledge thereof, or experience, training or education if such be required. Such evidence may be by the testimony of the witness himself or herself. K.S.A. 60-419. The trial court has broad discretion in admitting or excluding the testimony of an expert witness. Necessity arising out of the particular circumstances of the case is the basis for the admission of expert testimony. To be admissible, expert testimony must be helpful to the jury. Where it is not helpful, that is, where the normal experience and qualifications of laypersons serving as jurors permit them to draw proper conclusions from given facts and circumstances, expert testimony is inadmissible. State v. Papen, 274 Kan. 149, 157, 50 P.3d 37 (2002) (citing State v. Smallwood, 264 Kan. 69, 80, 955 P.2d 1209 [1998]). For a witness to testify as an expert on a particular subject, the witness must have skill or experience in the business or profession to which the subject relates. Choo-E-Flakes, Inc. v. Good, 224 Kan. 417, 419, 580 P.2d 888 (1978). In Kansas, the admissibility of expert testimony is subject to K.S.A. 60-456(b). Kuhn v. Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp., 270 Kan. 443, 454, 14 P.3d 1170 (2000). If the witness is testifying as an expert, testimony of the witness in the form of opinions or inferences is limited to such opinions as the judge finds are (1) based on facts or data perceived by or personally known or made known to the witness at the hearing and (2) within the scope of the special knowledge, skill, experience or training possessed by the witness. K.S.A. 60-456(b). The Court of Appeals panel compared this case to Trimble, Administrator v. Coleman Co., Inc., 200 Kan. 350, 437 P.2d 219 (1968), stating: The present case is somewhat similar to Trimble .... There, the trial court refused to admit the opinion testimony of plaintiff's expert, even though defendant raised no questions as to the expert's general expertise. Having examined a photograph of the gas heating stove and a pamphlet of general operating instructions, the expert was familiar with the stove in question and with similar types of stoves. The expert opined that a gas heating stove, if properly manufactured, properly assembled, properly installed, and properly adjusted, should not generate carbon monoxide gas. And assuming the stove in question did produce carbon monoxide gas after being carefully installed and adjusted, the expert was of the opinion the manufacture of the gas stove `was defective somewhere.' 200 Kan. at 354. The trial court rejected the testimony because the opinions stated were based on speculation and conjecture, and the Supreme Court affirmed the ruling. 200 Kan. at 357. It is not enough for the expert to assert opinions based on fact not known or presented. See 200 Kan. at 357. The mere fact an injury occurs is not sufficient to establish liability. 200 Kan. at 359. 30 Kan. App. 2d at 753-54. In Trimble, the administrator of the Estates of James and Inez Griffin brought suit against the Coleman Company, Inc., seeking damages for their wrongful deaths. The Griffins purchased a gas heating stove on January 14, 1963, and were found dead the next day of carbon monoxide poisoning. On appeal, the administrator argued that the trial court erred in refusing to admit the testimony of Dr. Fred Kurata, an expert on the subject of the thermodynamic and physical properties of natural gas. The Trimble court observed: No question [was] raised as to his general expertise in his field. 200 Kan. at 354. At his deposition, Dr. Kurata testified that he had not inspected the gas heating stove either before or after the incident but that, on the day of his deposition, he had examined a photograph of the stove and a booklet of general operating instructions. Dr. Kurata testified he was familiar with this stove and other like stoves. Dr. Kurata stated that if a gas heating stove was properly manufactured, assembled, installed, and adjusted, it should not generate carbon monoxide gas. Significantly, Dr. Kurata presented alternative opinion testimony regarding the cause of the carbon monoxide gas. In response to purely hypothetical questions, he opined that if a heating stove produced carbon monoxide gas after careful installation and adjustment, the cause of the stove's production of carbon monoxide gas was that the manufacture was defective somewhere. Alternatively, he stated that if such a stove were properly designed and manufactured, yet when lit produced carbon monoxide gas, the cause of the gas in that hypothetical situation was that the adjustment was improper. 200 Kan. at 354-55. The trial court rejected the deposition testimony of Dr. Kurata after defendants objected on the basis that Dr. Kurata had no personal knowledge of facts concerning the particular stove in question, that the opinions given were not predicated upon facts in evidence at trial, and that the opinions failed to interpret evidence which would assist jurors in coming to an ultimate decision in the case. This court upheld the decision of the trial court in Trimble, noting that an expert witness must base his testimony upon facts personally perceived by or known to him or made known to him at the hearing, and stating that the admissibility of expert witness testimony was a matter entrusted to the sound discretion of the trial court. 200 Kan. at 356-57. We note, however, that the Trimble opinion appears to place the greatest emphasis on the hypothetical nature of the questions put to Dr. Kurata and his alternative causation opinions. The Trimble court wrote: The province of an expert witness is to aid the jury in the interpretation of technical facts or to assist in understanding the material in evidence. It is not his province to state simple conclusions based upon facts which could be, but which have not been, placed in evidence. [Citations omitted.] . . . . Under the facts placed in evidence these hypothetical questions are questionable in form and foundation. They appear objectionable because when asked in the alternative the answers would not aid a jury in interpreting technical facts or assist in understanding the material in evidence. The hypothesis upon which each question was presented was not sufficiently founded upon the facts in evidence. The trial court acted within its sound discretion in excluding Dr. Kurata's deposition and we find no error therein. (Emphasis added.) 200 Kan. at 357. While the Trimble court mentioned Dr. Kurata's lack of personal knowledge concerning the particular stove in question, the strongest justification for upholding the trial court appears to be that the expert witness testified as to alternate causes for the release of carbon monoxide gas in answer to the hypothetical questions asked at his deposition. Thus, this court believed, as did the trial court, that his opinions would not have assisted the jury in reaching an ultimate conclusion as to which, if any, of the parties were at fault in the carbon monoxide poisoning deaths. Trimble is distinguishable from the present case in that here, Pfeiffer performed a physical examination of the combine and formulated an opinion as to the specific cause of the fire. In addition, the Trimble opinion did not concern itself with Dr. Kurata's background and qualifications. He was simply found to have general expertise in the field of the thermodynamic and physical properties of natural gas and was familiar with the type of stove in question, which was enough to qualify him to render an expert opinion on the cause of the carbon monoxide gas by the heating stove in question. Thus, the Trimble court affirmed the trial court's discretionary decision excluding the expert's testimony. 200 Kan. at 357. In support of its argument on appeal that Pfeiffer lacked sufficient qualifications to testify on the cause of the combine fire, Case cites K.S.A. 60-456(b); Choo-E-Flakes, Inc., 224 Kan. at 419; State v. Duncan, 221 Kan. 714, Syl. ¶ 6, 562 P.2d 84 (1977); Meinhardt v. Kansas Power & Light Co., 8 Kan. App. 2d 471, 661 P.2d 820 (1983); and Voelkel v. General Motors Corp., 846 F. Supp. 1468, 1476-80 (D. Kan. 1994). The facts of those cases are widely different from those presented here and lend little support to Case's argument. In Choo-E-Flakes, Inc., this court upheld the trial court's refusal to permit an entomologist and administrative director of agriculture board programs to testify as an expert on grain milling and mixing feed. 224 Kan. at 419. The Duncan case involved a murder trial, and this court affirmed the trial court's ruling on the admissibility of a detective's opinion as to whether the crime could have been committed elsewhere when the detective had testified he did not view the body at the scene and was not familiar with the case. 221 Kan. at 723-24. The Court of Appeals in Meinhardt affirmed the trial court's decision to exclude the testimony of the landowners' expert concerning alleged hazardous biological effects created by overhead [electric] transmission lines in a condemnation action brought to decide the sole issue of just compensation. 8 Kan. App. 2d at 471-73. In Voelkel, the court held that plaintiff's expert failed to provide favorable testimony causally linking the injuries to a possible defect in the seat belt buckle of plaintiff's vehicle. 846 F. Supp. at 1476-80. Relying on Trimble, the Court of Appeals concluded that since Pfeiffer was unaware of the temperature at which hydraulic fluid soaked debris would ignite and was unaware of the operating temperatures of the nearby components he stated were the source of the heat build-up, his opinion was based on speculation and conjecture lacking probative value and should have been rejected. Dieker, 30 Kan. App. 2d at 754. We find, however, that the facts of this case are more akin to those presented in Farmers Ins. Co. v. Smith, 219 Kan. 680, 549 P.2d 1026 (1976). There, plaintiffs and their insurers sought to recover damages from the manufacturer of a 3-month-old mobile home after a fire occurred causing extensive damage to the home and its contents. The trial court did not allow plaintiffs' expert witness, a licensed engineer from a consulting firm with a background in electronics and electrical engineering, to testify that the cause of a mobile home fire was a loose connection at or near the breaker box. The expert conducted an investigation which included an examination of the mobile home, its appliances, and the fire-damaged circuit breaker box. The expert stated that he arrived at his opinion as to the cause of the fire using a process of elimination. The trial court, after conducting a voir dire of the expert, sustained the defendants' objection to the admission of the expert's opinion largely because the expert's opinion was based on inductive reasoning, not on physical evidence. On appeal, this court found that the trial court erred in refusing to permit plaintiffs' expert to present his opinion to the jury, noting that a cause of action may be proved by circumstantial evidence, and ... need not ... exclude ... every other reasonable conclusion. 219 Kan. at 688-89. In addition, this court concluded: We do not find the evidence in this case to be so uncertain or speculative as to justify the action of the trial court in excluding [the expert's] opinion as to the source of the fire. By his elimination of other possible causes for the fire it would appear that his conclusion was reasonable that the fire was the result of some defect in the mobile home's electrical system. 219 Kan. at 690. Previous Kansas Supreme Court decisions teach that the elements of a products liability action may be proved by circumstantial evidence, and such evidence, in order to be sufficient to sustain a verdict of a jury, need not rise to that degree of certainty which will exclude any and every other reasonable conclusion. Proximate causation in a proper case may be shown by circumstantial evidence. [Citation omitted.] It is quite proper to use expert testimony to prove the cause of a fire provided the opinion of the expert is based upon adequate facts and is not based upon evidence which is too uncertain or speculative. [Citations omitted.] 219 Kan. at 688-89. Circumstantial evidence can serve as proof of the elements of a theory of liability by a preponderance of the evidence even though other reasonable theories are not excluded by such evidence. Mays v. Ciba-Geigy Corp., 233 Kan. 38, 53-54, 661 P.2d 348 (1983) (manaufacturing defect products liability action). In Farmers Ins. Co., the expert's background and training was in electronics and electrical engineering, not fire investigation. Despite this fact, the expert was held qualified to testify that a loose connection in the mobile home's electrical system caused the fire that damaged the mobile home. 219 Kan. at 685. After careful consideration of this issue, we find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it allowed Pfeiffer to present his expert opinion to the jury on the cause of the combine fire. Pfeiffer's opinion did not involve novel scientific theory but, rather, was drawn from known facts, his experience and knowledge of possible causes of fire in a machine, and the use of logic to draw a rational conclusion as to possible causation. The logic of Pfeiffer's opinion was demonstrated by the fact that Case's expert's conclusions were essentially the same as Pfeiffer's, save that Pfeiffer opined that the heat built up under oil soaked chaff, whereas Case's expert believed the heat built up under dry chaff. Given his educational background and work experience, we find that the testimony given by Pfeiffer was within the scope of his special knowledge, skill, experience, or training. Pfeiffer undoubtedly had the qualifications to testify about a preexisting oil leak, that hydraulic fluid is combustible, that chaff could accumulate in the area of the hydraulic fluid leak, and that heat from mechanical components not allowed to properly dissipate could build up to the point of ignition. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by permitting him to give his opinion concerning a mechanical cause of the fire.