Opinion ID: 1223875
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Testimony of Dr. Suyderhoud regarding Tabieros's future earnings

Text: Clark further argues on appeal that the circuit court abused its discretion by allowing the plaintiffs' expert economist, Jack P. Suyderhoud, Ph.D., to express opinions regarding the extent of Tabieros's post-accident earning capacity and likely future income. Specifically, Clark contends that Dr. Suyderhoud based his opinion testimony on assumptions that were speculative and unsupported by the record. We agree. Dr. Suyderhoud testified that he had calculated Tabieros's loss of future income attributable to the straddle carrier accident via a two-step process: first, he added the value of Tabieros's estimated future income, in the absence of the accident-related injury, over the course of Tabieros's expected work life to the value of Tabieros's expected post-work pension income; second, from the figure derived from the foregoing calculation, he then subtracted both the value of Tabieros's estimated future income, in light of the accident-related injury, and the value of Tabieros's disability pension. Dr. Suyderhoud acknowledged that, in performing the calculation described above, he had reviewed none of Tabieros's medical records (with the exception of some past billings) and had based his analysis on the assumption, which the plaintiffs' counsel had instructed him to make, that the entirety of Tabieros's future income would derive from his part-time job at a bowling pro shop, where he presently worked, and from his disability pension. [44] On the basis that the record failed to support such an assumption, Clark moved in limine to bar Dr. Suyderhoud's testimony. The circuit court denied Clark's motion. At trial, the plaintiffs adduced evidence, which, when construed in a light most favorable to Tabieros's disability claim, tended to show that Tabieros (1) had sustained an injury resulting in some permanent pain and nerve damage, (2) had exhibited limited knee and ankle flexion for a period of time following the accident, and (3) had experienced subsequent physical and psychological problems that limited his ability to work around straddle carriers or in any job requiring that he climb tall ladders. However, none of the plaintiffs' medical or rehabilitative experts testified that Tabieros would suffer a permanent partial disability from future employment. To the contrary, each expert testified that the physical injuries and psychological problems that had limited his ability to work for a period of time following the accident were treatable and that he was, in fact, able to return to work. In addition, Kenneth Nakano, M.D., a neurologist who testified on the plaintiffs' behalf, stated that, when he was tested in 1990, Tabieros was recovering from the neurological damage that he had sustained. Harvey Nakamoto, Tabieros's licensed physical therapist, testified that, as of the time his therapy terminated, Tabieros had progressed to normal knee flexion and substantially normal ankle flexion. Leigh Sakamaki, M.D., Tabieros's treating psychiatrist, testified that Tabieros had suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression as a result of the accident, but had responded favorably to treatment until unilaterally discontinuing his prescribed medication. William Tsushima, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist to whom Tabieros had been referred for evaluation, testified that Tabieros had exhibited symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder, depression, and chronic pain syndrome, but that Tabieros would be expected to recover from his disabling psychological problems with the appropriate treatment. As noted supra in section II.E., [w]hether expert testimony should be admitted at trial rests within the sound discretion of the trial court and will not be overturned unless there is a clear abuse of discretion. Wallace, 80 Hawai`i at 406, 910 P.2d at 719 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Nevertheless, to be admissible, `expert testimony must be both relevant and reliable.' Id. at 407, 910 P.2d at 720 (quoting Maelega, 80 Hawai`i at 181, 907 P.2d at 767; see also Samonte, 83 Hawai`i at 533, 928 P.2d at 27). Subject to HRE 703 and 705, however, see supra at section III.D.4.b., [o]pinions of expert witnesses must be based upon facts in evidence[.] Loevsky, 70 Haw. at 431, 773 P.2d at 1127 (brackets in original) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Accordingly, assumptions ... based on mere speculation that are foundational to an expert's opinion testimony render the latter inadmissible as untrustworthy, i.e., as unreliable. Id. at 431, 773 P.2d at 1128. In light of the expert medical, psychological, and rehabilitative testimony described above, it is apparent that Dr. Suyderhoud lacked any factual basis for assuming that Tabieros would, by virtue of his accident-related injuries and for the rest of his life, be limited to part-time work or precluded from finding gainful employment in his former field. Rather, it is apparent that Dr. Suyderhoud's opinions were based on assumptions  skewed toward maximizing the plaintiffs' claimed damages  the sole source of which was the plaintiffs' counsel. Dr. Suyderhoud expressly acknowledged that these assumptions, if factually unsupported or otherwise invalid, would unduly inflate his calculations regarding Tabieros's loss of future income. He also conceded that he had no idea whether his assumptions reflect[ed] reality. The plaintiffs' suggestion that HRE 701 through 705, relating to opinions and expert testimony, allow an expert to testify based on hypothetical questions is inapposite. The record reveals that neither the plaintiffs nor Clark posed any hypothetical questions of Dr. Suyderhoud with respect to the testimony at issue. More significantly, however, is the fact that foundational evidence was never adduced that would have supported such hypothetical questions. While experts may render opinions pursuant to hypotheticals that assume facts not yet in evidence, the ultimate admissibility of such testimony is subject to later introduction of those foundational facts. See Barretto, 51 Haw. at 388-90, 463 P.2d at 920-22; Lai v. St. Peter, 10 Haw.App. 298, 309-10, 869 P.2d 1352, 1359 (1994). Ultimate failure to establish the necessary foundational facts renders the expert's opinion testimony subject to a motion to strike in order to cure the defect. Barretto, 51 Haw. at 388, 463 P.2d at 921. In short, Dr. Suyderhoud's expert testimony regarding the diminution of Tabieros's post-accident earning capacity and likely future income lacked any factual basis established either before or after he gave his testimony. Clark's pretrial motion in limine was designed to exclude his testimony precisely for that reason. Accordingly, we hold that the court committed an abuse of discretion when it ultimately allowed the testimony that Clark's motion in limine sought to bar.