Opinion ID: 2391757
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Dr. Anderson's Testimony

Text: Ford argues that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting Dr. Anderson's expert testimony. Specifically, Ford claims that Dr. Anderson was not qualified to testify as to alternative designs and his theory regarding EMI as the cause of the sudden acceleration failed to meet the reliability requirements. We agree. As a primary matter, we reject Respondents' argument that because Dr. Anderson presented technical evidence, as opposed to scientific evidence, his testimony did not have to meet the reliability requirements. The trial court must examine the substance of the testimony to determine if it is reliable, regardless of whether the expert evidence is scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge. See White, 382 S.C. at 270, 676 S.E.2d at 686 (holding that all expert evidence must satisfy Rule 702, both in terms of expert qualifications and reliability of the subject matter); see also Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137, 119 S.Ct. 1167, 143 L.Ed.2d 238 (1999) (holding that in determining the admissibility of evidence pursuant to Rule 702, FRE, the same reliability requirements apply to all types of expert evidence). Turning to the merits of Ford's argument, in order for Dr. Anderson's expert testimony to be admissible, the trial court had to find not only that Dr. Anderson was an expert based on his knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education in the field of EMI and its affect on automobiles, but also that the substance of his testimony was reliable. With regard to the reliability requirement, in Council, this Court listed several factors that the trial court should consider when determining whether scientific expert evidence is reliable: [3] (1) the publications and peer review of the technique; (2) prior application of the method to the type of evidence involved in the case; (3) the quality control procedures used to ensure reliability; and (4) the consistency of the method with recognized scientific laws and procedures. Id. at 19, 515 S.E.2d at 517 (citing State v. Ford, 301 S.C. 485, 392 S.E.2d 781 (1990)). We find that the trial court erred in admitting Dr. Anderson's testimony as to both an alternative feasible design and his EMI theory. [4] With regard to alternative feasible design, Dr. Anderson failed to meet Rule 702's fundamental requirement that the witness be qualified in the particular area of expertise. Dr. Anderson's background involved working with massive generators which have entirely different electrical wiring systems and different voltage levels. He had no experience in the automobile industry, never studied a cruise control system, and never designed any component of a cruise control system. Moreover, Respondents failed to show that the substance of his testimony that twisted pair wiring would have cured the EMI defect was reliable. Dr. Anderson declared that the twisted pair wiring would have prevented EMI but did not explain how twisted pair wiring could be incorporated in to a cruise control system and did not offer any model comparison. Furthermore, Dr. Anderson concluded that this design was economically feasible, but offered no evidence to support this conclusion. Thus, his testimony on this matter lacked any scientific basis and contained no indicia of reliability. Accordingly, we hold that the trial court erred in admitting this testimony because Dr. Anderson was not qualified to testify as to alternative designs to the Explorer's cruise control system and his testimony was not reliable. Turning to the testimony regarding EMI and its effect on the cruise control system, initially we question whether Dr. Anderson was qualified as an expert on this subject. Again, Dr. Anderson had no experience with automobiles and specifically no experience with cruise control systems. In fact, Dr. Anderson had not even operated an automobile with a cruise control system before this litigation. Nonetheless, assuming Dr. Anderson was properly qualified as an expert in this area, we find that his testimony was not reliable. Dr. Anderson first learned of sudden acceleration occurring in automobiles in 2000 after he was contacted by a television news station that was investigating automobile accidents. Dr. Anderson admitted that his theory had not been peer reviewed, he had never published papers on his theory, and he had never tested his theory. He also admitted that he would not be able to determine exactly where the EMI which he opined caused the cruise control to malfunction originated or what part of the system it affected. He further testified that it would not be possible to replicate the alleged EMI malfunction of a cruise control system in a testing environment. To support his theory that EMI caused the Explorer to suddenly accelerate, Dr. Anderson pointed to only one document, a 1975 National Highway Safety Transportation Administration (NHSTA) report concluding that EMI can cause a cruise control system to malfunction. However, the NHTSA issued superseding report in 1989, which specifically rejected the EMI theory. In our view, there is no evidence indicating that Dr. Anderson's testimony contained any indicia of reliability. He had never published articles on his theory nor had he tested his theory. Importantly, Dr. Anderson admitted that it was not possible to test for EMI. Furthermore, although it is not a prerequisite in South Carolina that scientific evidence attain general acceptance in the scientific community before it is admitted, we find it instructive that not only has the underlying science not been generally accepted, Dr. Anderson's theory was rejected in the scientific community. See Council, 335 S.C. at 21, 515 S.E.2d at 518 (recognizing and taking in to consideration the fact that the science underlying DNA analysis evidence has been generally accepted in the scientific community in determining whether such evidence was reliable). Therefore, because there is no evidence in the record to show that the substance of Dr. Anderson's testimony was reliable, we hold that the trial court erred in admitting this testimony. [5] In our view, the trial court's error in admitting Dr. Anderson's testimony is largely based on solely focusing on whether he was qualified as an expert in the field of electrical engineering and failing to analyze the reliability of the proposed testimony. [6] Respondents did not offer Dr. Anderson to testify generally as to the electrical wiring of a circuit system in an automobile. Rather, Respondents sought to introduce Dr. Anderson's testimony to determine a fact in issue based on a scientific hypothesis. The trial court was thus required to examine the substance of the testimony for reliability, and in failing to make this threshold determination, the trial court erred as a matter of law in admitting Dr. Anderson's testimony. We find that Ford was prejudiced by the admission of this testimony. The only evidence Respondents presented to support their theory that the vehicle was defective was Dr. Anderson's testimony. We also note that Respondents may not rely solely on the fact that an accident occurred to prove their products liability case under a negligence theory since South Carolina does not follow the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur. [7] See Snow v. City of Columbia, 305 S.C. 544, n. 7, 409 S.E.2d 797, n. 7 (Ct.App.1991) (noting that South Carolina does not recognize the rule of res ipsa loquitur ). Thus, in the absence of any admissible evidence in the record to support their products liability claim, the jury impermissibly speculated as to the cause of the accident.