Opinion ID: 2510266
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Did the District Judge Abuse his Discretion in Refusing to Permit Mr. Phibbs, Mrs. Anderson, and Mr. Anderson to Give their Opinions as to the Speed of the Plaintiff's Vehicle?

Text: The district judge ruled that Mr. Phibbs, Mr. Anderson, and Mrs. Anderson could not express opinions regarding the speed of the Plaintiff's vehicle. None of them were able to estimate the speed of the Plaintiff's Geo based upon their observations of it traveling down the road. Mr. Phibbs testified that when he saw the Geo, it was too far away to estimate its speed. Mr. Anderson testified that he saw the Geo about a quarter-mile away, but he did not attempt to estimate its speed based upon that observation. Mrs. Anderson testified she did not see the Geo before the collision. Their estimates of speed would have been based upon their determinations of how fast the Geo must have been traveling for it to have covered a quarter mile in the time that elapsed between when Mr. Phibbs pulled onto 3600 North Road and when he began turning into the Andersons' driveway. The district judge held that Mr. Phibbs and the Andersons were not qualified as experts to express their opinions as to the Geo's speed based upon their reconstructions of the accident. We agree. The district judge did not err in holding that they could not express such opinions.