Opinion ID: 2516122
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: The Pure Opinion Exception

Text: We use the term pure opinion to characterize an expert opinion developed from inductive reasoning based on the expert's own experience, observation, or research. See, Florida Power & Light Co., 729 So.2d at 997. The Frye test does not apply to pure opinion testimony. The Frye test does apply when an expert witness reaches a conclusion by deduction from applying a new or novel scientific principal, formula, or procedure developed by others. The validity of pure opinion is tested by cross-examination of the witness. The validity of an opinion subject to Frye is tested by inquiring into general acceptance as reliable within the expert's particular scientific field. See Logerquist v. McVey, 196 Ariz. 470, 320 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 15, 1 P.3d 113, 132-33 (2000). We next consider the Frye test's applicability to the testimony of Drs. Gould, Saade, and Davies. The Frye test is concerned with whether the expert's opinion is based on a technique that has earned general acceptance in the expert's scientific field as reliable. Expert testimony based on results of an experimental technique should not be admitted into evidence. Canaan, 265 Kan. at 848. A critical question, however, in deciding if Frye applies to expert testimony concerns the precise meaning of the term technique for the purposes of applying the test. Sandoz adopts the district court's reasoning and takes a broad view of the term technique. The district court, for example, concluded that the studies literature and other evidence upon which plaintiffs' experts purport to rely for both their general and specific causation opinions were not sufficiently legally reliable support for such opinions. Sandoz similarly assumes that the Frye test is applicable without a measured discussion of whether the plaintiffs' experts employed a technique that is subject to the Frye test. Two foreign cases are of interest in resolving whether the expert opinions at issue here employed a technique or methodology to which the Frye test applies. In the first, Florida Power & Light Co., 729 So.2d 995, an electrical transformer from a utility pole leaked liquid containing a harmful toxin known as polycholorinated bipheyles (PCB's) into the eye of Tursi, a man who happened to be standing under the pole. Tursi developed conjunctivitis, experienced irritation under his skin 6 months later, and developed a cataract 4 years after the incident. Tursi's causation expert, an ophthalmologist who had experience treating thousands of cataract patients, testified that: (1) there were many causes of cataracts, including aging, congenital, x-rays, radiation, exposure to chemicals, and other trauma, (2) chemical agents can cause cataracts, and (3) cataracts can take from weeks to years to develop. The ophthalmologist ruled out a number of other causes of Tursi's cataract because of Tursi's young age (60) and the fact that the cataract only developed in one eye. The expert concluded that within a reasonable medical certainty, the transformer liquid was the cause of Tursi's cataract. Florida Power and Light Co., the defendant, advancing the Frye test, challenged the district court's decision to admit the ophthalmologist's testimony. The district court determined that the expert testimony had been pure opinion and that the ophthalmologist had not relied on a scientific principle or test; thus, there was no Frye requirement. 729 So.2d at 997. The Florida Power and Light Co. court affirmed and distinguished between pure opinion testimony and testimony relying upon a scientific method or principle: [P]ure opinion testimony, such as an expert's opinion that a defendant is incompetent, does not have to meet Frye, because this type of testimony is based on the expert's personal experience and training. While cloaked with the credibility of the expert, this testimony is analyzed by the jury as it analyzes any other personal opinion or factual testimony by a witness. 729 So.2d at 997. Sandoz argues that Florida Power & Light Co. actually supports the district court's decision here. According to Sandoz, although that opinion determined that pure opinion testimony does not have to meet the Frye test, the expert testimony offered by plaintiffs here must. We disagree. Like the ophthalmologist in Florida Power& Light Co., plaintiffs' causation experts here relied on their experience and training. The experts opined that alternative causes of Jennifer's death could be excluded from speculation as the likely cause of the cerebral edema. A similar distinction between opinion testimony and testimony involving scientific methods or procedures is evident in the Arizona Supreme Court's recent decision in Logerquist, 196 Ariz. 470, 1 P.3d 113. Logerquist alleged that her pediatrician, Dr. Danforth, sexually abused her on several occasions between 1971 and 1973, when she was 8 to 10 years old. She contended that she had amnesia about the abuse until 1991, when her memory was triggered by watching a television commercial featuring a pediatrician. Logerquist sought to introduce evidence that severe childhood trauma can cause a repression that can later be recalled with accuracy. The district court granted the defendant's (Dr. Danforth) motion to subject the evidence to a Frye test hearing. At the hearing, Logerquist's expert witness testified that his experience and observations over many years and the extensive literature on the subject led him to conclude that the repressed memory phenomenon existed in some patients. Dr. Danforth's expert countered that there were serious flaws in the many studies supporting repressed memory. The Danforth expert witness cited other studies finding that trauma usually enhances memory rather than causing amnesia. The district court, applying Frye, excluded Logerquist's expert testimony. According to the district court, the theories advanced by Logerquist's expert were not generally accepted within the relevant scientific community. The Arizona Supreme Court reversed. Relying on an extensive review of relevant case law, the Supreme Court concluded that Frye is not applicable when a qualified witness offers relevant testimony or conclusions based on experience and observation of human behavior for the purpose of explaining that behavior. 196 Ariz. at 480. The Logerquist court said: `Although compliance with Frye is necessary when the scientist reaches a conclusion by applying a scientific theory or process based on the work or discovery of others, under Rules 702 [Rule 702, Arizona Rules of Evidence, governs the admission of opinion testimony] and 703 experts may testify concerning their own experimentation and observation and opinions based on their own work without first showing general acceptance.' 196 Ariz. at 480 (quoting State v. Hummert, 188 Ariz. 119, 127, 933 P.2d 1187 [1997]). We agree. At issue in Logerquist was whether Arizona would abandon the Frye test and apply Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 125 L. Ed.2d 469, 113 S. Ct. 2786 (1993). A divided court reaffirmed Frye. The dissenters in Logerquist would adopt Daubert and exclude the testimony of Logerquist's expert. 196 Ariz. at 491. The distinction between pure opinion testimony and testimony based on a scientific method or procedure is rooted in a concept that seeks to limit application of the Frye test to situations where there is the greatest potential for juror confusion. We have yet to articulate a distinction between pure opinion testimony and testimony relying upon a scientific technique. Such a distinction, we believe, has advantages. The distinction would be consistent with Kansas appellate decisions applying the Frye test, almost all of which have involved devices or tests surrounded by an aura of infallibility to which a trier of fact might tend to ascribe an inordinately high degree of certainty. See People v. Mc-Donald, 37 Cal.3d 351, 372-73, 208 Cal. Rptr. 236, 690 P.2d 709 (1984), overruled on other grounds People v. Mendoza, 23 Cal. 4th 896, 98 Cal. Rptr.2d 431, 4 P.3d 265 (2000). Kansas Frye test cases have addressed a variety of scientific techniques. See State v. Shively, 268 Kan. 573, 584-87, 999 P.2d 952 (2000) (polygraph evidence); State v. Valdez, 266 Kan. 774, 787-88, 977 P.2d 242 (1999) (statistical evidence accompanying a type of DNA testing known as polymerase chain reaction [PCR] testing); State v. Heath, 264 Kan. 557, 577-78, 957 P.2d 449 (1998) (battered child syndrome); State v. Chastain, 265 Kan. 16, 22-23, 960 P.2d 756 (1998) (the horizontal gaze nystagmus sobriety test); State v. Canaan, 265 Kan. 835, 852, 964 P.2d 681 (1998) (the luminol test for the presence of blood); State v. Isley, 262 Kan. 281, 290, 936 P.2d 275 (1997) (statistical evidence accompanying PCR testing); State v. Haddock, 257 Kan. 964, 985, 897 P.2d 152 (1995) (PCR testing); State v. Hill, 257 Kan. 774, 785, 895 P.2d 1238 (1995) (PCR testing); State v. Colbert, 257 Kan. 896, 910, 896 P.2d 1089 (1995) (DNA print testing and the process of restriction fragment link polymorphism [RFLP] analysis); State v. Witte 251 Kan. 313, 329, 836 P.2d 1110 (1992) (the horizontal gaze nystagmus sobriety test); Smith v. Deppish, 248 Kan. 217, 238-39, 807 P.2d 144 (1991) (DNA print testing and the process of RFLP analysis); State v. Butterworth, 246 Kan. 541, 550, 556, 792 P.2d 1049 (1990) (hypnosis); State v. Hodges 241 Kan 183, 187, 734 P.2d 1161 (1987) (theory and methodology underlying the battered woman syndrome); State v. Miller, 240 Kan 733, 735-38, 732 P.2d 756 (1987) (the Dequenois-Levine test for determining whether a substance is marijuana); State v. Haislip, 237 Kan. 461, 481-82, 701 P.2d 909 (1985) (use of hypnosis to induce witness testimony); Neises v. Solomon State Bank, 236 Kan. 767, 774, 696 P.2d 372 (1985) (a voice lie detector test called the PSE); State ex rel. Hausner v. Blackman, 233 Kan. 223, 228, 662 P.2d 1183 (1983) (human leukocyte antigen [HLA] test); State v. Marks, 231 Kan. 645, 654, 647 P.2d 1292 (1982) (psychiatric diagnosis on rape trauma syndrome admissible); State v. Washington, 229 Kan. 47, 53-54, 622 P.2d 986 (1981) (the Multi-System method of blood analysis of polymorphic enzymes; also lists examples of the application of the Frye test from other jurisdictions); State v. Lowry, 163 Kan. 622, 628-29, 185 P.2d 147 (1947) (the admissibility of a lie-detector test); State v. Fuller, 15 Kan. App.2d 34, 36, 802 P.2d 599 (1990) (a technique for identifying marijuana); Tice v. Richardson, 7 Kan. App.2d 509, 510, 644 P.2d 490 (1982) (the admissibility of HLA test in a paternity suit). See also cases in which Frye did not apply: State v. Warden, 257 Kan. 94, 106, 891 P.2d 1074 (1995) (facilitated communication); State v. Tran, 252 Kan. 494, 502, 847 P.2d 680 (1993) (testimony of a gang expert); State v. Barker, 252 Kan. 949, 958, 850 P.2d 885 (1993) (the use of narcotics dog). The distinction between pure opinion testimony and testimony relying on scientific technique promotes the right to a jury trial. Judges generally are not trained in scientific fields and, like jurors, are lay persons concerning science. A Kansas jury has a constitutional mandate to decide between conflicting facts, including conflicting opinions of causation. Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights, § 5; see K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 60-238. The district judge under K.S.A. 60-456(b) controls expert opinion evidence that would unduly prejudice or mislead a jury or confuse the question for resolution. Cross-examination, the submission of contrary evidence, and the use of appropriate jury instructions form a preferred method of resolving a factual disputes. The nature of the testimony of Drs. Davies, Saade, and Gould differs from scientific evidence that is usually subject to the Frye test. Plaintiffs' expert testimony here is distinguished from expert testimony where a scientific principal, device, test, or procedure, developed by another, is employed that purports to offer a definitive conclusion as to causation. The weight of the expert opinions here will not hinge on the validity of a scientific principal, device, test, or procedure developed by another. Weight will depend on the accuracy of observation, the extent of training, and the reliability of the experts' interpretations. Plaintiffs assert that the district court determined that the experts' opinions were inadmissible simply due to the fact that their conclusions were neither the majority opinion nor generally accepted. It is well-established that the Frye test is exclusively concerned with the methodologies underlying expert testimony, rather than the conclusions of that testimony. The very wording of Frye demonstrates that the focus is on the underlying scientific principles from which the conclusions are deduced: Just when a scientific principle or discovery crosses the line between the experimental and demonstrable stages is difficult to define. Somewhere in this twilight zone the evidential force of the principle must be recognized, and while courts will go a long way in admitting expert testimony deduced from a well-recognized scientific principle or discovery, the thing from which the deduction is made must be sufficiently established to have gained general acceptance in the particular field in which it belongs. Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013, 1014 (D.C. Cir. 1923). An illustrative case is Osburn v. Anchor Lab., Inc., 825 F.2d 908 (5th Cir. 1987). Anchor, a pre-Daubert case, admitted opposite conclusions of testimony derived from the same scientific methodology. 825 F.2d at 916. [M]edical expert opinion testimony that is controversial in its conclusions can support a jury finding of causation as long as the doctor's conclusory opinion is based upon wellfounded methodologies. 825 F.2d at 915. The logical corollary of the Frye test's focus on methodology rather than conclusions is that even unpopular conclusions are admissible so long as they are based upon generally accepted methodologies. Sandoz correctly points out that an unpopular conclusion by a scientist can be evidence that a method has not been faithfully applied (citing Lust v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 89 F.3d 594, 598 [9th Cir. 1996] [applying Daubert]). However, unpopular conclusions alone are insufficient to render testimony inadmissable. See Douglas v. Lombardino, 236 Kan. 471, 693 P.2d 1138 (1985). Lombardino, a significant case in our analysis, is a medical malpractice action resulting in a jury verdict for the defendant, Dr. Lombardino. A patient of Dr. Lombardino's died shortly after giving birth. In his defense, Dr. Lombardino offered expert testimony from two M.D.'s who opined that the cardiotoxic effects of the drug Marcaine led to the patient's death and that Lombardino had followed acceptable medical practice in caring for his patient. Although the conclusions of Dr. Lombardino's two experts were not generally accepted within the relevant scientific community, we ruled that the opinions were admissible. We concluded: There was no abuse of discretion in allowing testimony of the cardiotoxic nature of Marcaine even though the theory was not as yet widely accepted in the field. We note that along with the `cardiotoxic' testimony, the jury also heard testimony and opinions of other experts who disagreed with the validity of this theory. The fact that this theory was a minority view goes only to the weight the jury may give it, and not its admissibility. 236 Kan. at 486-87. Lombardino clearly establishes that lack of popularity is not a sufficient reason to block admission. We said: Under K.S.A. 60-456(b) there is no requirement that before an expert witness may give an opinion he must demonstrate that most, or all, or many other experts would agree with his opinion. 236 Kan. 471, Syl. ¶ 5. During the proceedings here, the district judge said: The plaintiffs would distinguish between methodology and ultimate conclusions. In the Court's opinion, if that's a distinction, it's a distinction without a difference for this purpose in that however you label those parts, when they come together, the same test applies. The methodology underlying expert testimony and the conclusions of that testimony do not constitute the same test. As the Fifth Circuit observed in Osburn, employment of the same generally accepted methodology can lead to different conclusions with markedly different degrees of acceptance within the scientific community. Osburn, 825 F.2d at 915. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Heller v. Shaw Indus. Inc., 167 F.3d 146, 156 (3d Cir. 1999), quoted Prof. Capra, Reporter to the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Evidence: `[T]o require the experts to rule out categorically all other possible causes for an injury would mean that few experts would ever be able to testify .... Obvious alternative causes need to be ruled out. All possible causes, however, cannot be and need not be eliminated before an expert's testimony will be admitted.' (Quoting Capra, The Daubert Puzzle, 32 Ga. L. Rev. 699, 728 [1998].) We now turn to general and special causation, two toxic tort concepts that surfaced in the summary judgment proceedings below. Linked to the general/special causation argument is Sandoz' emphasis on the absence of epidemiological studies supporting plaintiffs' claims. We disagree with the district court's application of the requirements of general and special causation to the facts here. The district judge said: More particularly, plaintiffs must prove both general medical causationthat the substance can cause the injury at issueand specific medical causationthat the substance did cause the injury at issue. The need for separate evidence of general causation to admit testimony of specific causation apparently has not been addressed by Kansas appellate courts. Kansas Pattern Instruction, (PIK) Civ. 128.18, regarding products liability, does not refer to a general causation requirement. The instruction states that the defect in the product was the cause or contributed to cause plaintiff's injuries and damages without any mention of general causation. PIK Civ. 104.01, regarding causation, explicitly recommends that no instruction be given defining causation. See also Southgate Bank v. Fidelity & Deposit Co., of Maryland, 14 Kan. App.2d 454, 459, 794 P.2d 310 (1990) (concluding that a district court's use of the phrase direct result needs no definition and is not a difficult term for a jury to understand). No Kansas cases have required a finding of general causation in order to admit evidence pertaining to specific causation under the Frye test. The cases on which Sandoz relies to establish the need for both general and specific causation are distinguishable based upon the different legal standards employed in their respective jurisdictions; See Keene Corp., Inc. v. Hall, 96 Md. App. 644, 659, 626 A.2d 997, cert. granted Hall v. Keene Corp., 332 Md. 741 (1993) (the Frye test excluded the use of polarized light microscopy [PLM] to detect asbestos fibers in human tissue; PLM had been used to identify asbestos in building material); Blum v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 705 A.2d 1314, 1322-25 (Pa. Super. 1997), appeal granted 558 Pa. 597 (1999) (the trial judge as a gatekeeper decides whether the expert is offering sufficiently reliable, solid, trustworthy science; a birth defect allegedly caused by taking Benedectin during pregnancy [r]eplicated epidemiological studies consistently finding a strong association are necessary to establish causation under the Frye/Topa standard; the studies Blum's experts relied on are universally accepted as good science; the way the experts used the studies to draw conclusions was not). We do not foreclose, by our holding here, that a future case with appropriate facts may require a finding of general and special causation. However, the facts here distinguish this case from cases that have employed a general causation requirement. First, general causation requirements (requiring plaintiffs to present confirming epidemiological evidence to make out a prima facie case) have typically been applied in cases involving mass exposures: Cases that have not imposed this requirement [general causation] typically involve injuries that may be placed in the `sporadic accident model of tort law.' In [these] cases, where only a single plaintiff or a few plaintiffs have allegedly suffered an injury due to some exposure, a medical doctor will be permitted to render an opinion as to whether the exposure caused the plaintiff's injury solely on an examination of the plaintiff and a differential diagnosis of the source of the plaintiffs injury, sometimes supplemented with toxicological evidence.... In many of these cases there is relatively little epidemiological data available and the courts are reluctant to burden `first plaintiffs' with the task of using epidemiology to prove general causation. 2 Faigman, Keye, Saks & Sanders, Modern Scientific Evidence: The Law and Science of Expert Testimony: The Role of Epidemiological Evidence in Toxic Tort Cases. § 28-1.3.2, pp. 307-08 (Citing Boston, A Mass-Exposure Model of Toxic Causation: The Content of Scientific Proof and the Regulatory Experience, 18 Colum. J. Envtl. L. 181, 188 [1993].) The scope of plaintiffs' case here does not approach that of mass tort litigation. In addition, general causation requirements are usually imposed in cases with large existing epidemiological records. Richardson v. Richardson-Merrell, Inc., 857 F.2d 823, 832 (D.C. Cir. 1988), justified employing a general causation requirement on these grounds: Indeed, we are at the other end of the spectrum, a great distance from the `frontier of current medical and epidemiological inquiry.' And far from a paucity of scientific information on the oft-asserted claim of causal relationship of Bendectin and birth defects, the drug has been extensively studied and a wealth of published epidemiological data has been amassed, none of which has concluded that the drug is teratogenic. Uniquely to this case, the law now has the benefit of twenty years of scientific study, and the published results must be given their just due. A federal appeals court, in a case considering whether dermal exposure to dilute solutions of paraquat could cause pulmonary fibrosis, concluded: Thus, a cause-effect relationship need not be clearly established by animal or epidemiological studies before a doctor can testify that, in his opinion, such a relationship exists. Ferebee v. Chevron Chemical Co., 736 F.2d 1529, 1535 (D.C. Cir. 1984) cert. denied 469 U.S. 1062 (1984). See also Earl v. Cryovac, 115 Idaho 1087, 1095, 772 P.2d 725 (1989) (pulmonary disease allegedly caused by exposure to fumes from plastic film used in meat packing room; summary judgment for defendant reversed; plaintiff's claim in a toxic tort case does not fail merely because the circumstantial evidence and the expert opinions are unsupported by animal or epidemiological studies confirming the existence of a cause-and-effect relationship). Sandoz cites three studies tending to downplay the negative effects of Parlodel for the purposes of preventing postpartum lactation. This research, however, was insufficient to deter the FDA from issuing a formal recommendation that Sandoz withdraw the indication. Moreover, further studies are precluded by the potential harm of the drug on prospective study participants. Exclusion of Plaintiffs' Studies, Reports, and Literature The plaintiffs also argue that the district court abused its discretion in deciding to exclude all of the studies literature, and other evidence upon which their experts relied. The plaintiffs argue that [t]he trial court gave no evidentiary basis, such as hearsay, failure of foundation, privilege, relevance, prejudice, or unfair surprise, to support the exclusion; and the Court did not distinguish any individual document or group of documents for exclusion. The studies, literature, and other evidence excluded by the district court were not identified. We have no findings, analysis, or rationale for the district court's conclusion that they are not sufficient legally reliable support for such opinions. What studies, literature, and other evidence is the district court referring to? Why are the studies, literature, and other evidence not legally reliable? If materials are to be excluded, findings identifying the excluded items and the reason for exclusion should be made. Otherwise, we have no basis for a meaningful review. In conclusion, we believe that the adversary process can be trusted to sort out reliable from unreliable evidence. The weight of the evidence is left to the factfinder. The factfinder will have the benefit of cross-examination and, we assume, contrary evidence from the Sandoz experts. Reversed and remanded with directions.