Opinion ID: 793980
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Objections to Expert Witness Testimony

Text: 45 The defendants next claim that the district court erred in allowing the testimony of two of Ms. Naeem's expert witnesses. We shall discuss the testimony of each witness below separately.
46 At trial, William Anthony, a professor of management at Florida State University, testified for Ms. Naeem as a human resources expert and gave his opinion as to whether McKesson followed its own human resources policies in dealing with Ms. Naeem. Prior to trial, the defendants filed a motion in limine seeking to exclude Prof. Anthony's testimony on the ground that it was inadmissible under Federal Rules of Evidence 402, 403 and 702. The district court granted the motion in part, excluding Prof. Anthony's testimony regarding whether McKesson followed accepted human resource policies, but allowing testimony regarding whether McKesson followed its own policies. 47 The admissibility of expert testimony is governed by Federal Rule of Evidence 702, 5 as well as Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993). We first undertake a de novo review of whether or not the district court properly followed the framework set forth in Daubert.  Fuesting v. Zimmer, Inc., 421 F.3d 528, 534 (7th Cir.2005) (citation omitted). Daubert, as extended to all expert testimony including non-scientific expert testimony, requires the district court to perform the role of gatekeeper and to ensure the reliability and relevancy of expert testimony. Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137, 152, 119 S.Ct. 1167, 143 L.Ed.2d 238 (1999). So long as the district court adhered to Daubert's requirements, we shall not disturb the district court's findings unless they are manifestly erroneous. Fuesting, 421 F.3d at 534. 48 In ruling on the defendants' motion in limine, the district court simply stated that [Prof.] Anthony has sufficient expertise to be able to assist the jury in understanding the meaning of a company's employment policies. R.150 at 5. We have said that judges merely need to follow Daubert in making a Rule 702 determination. While the Daubert standard does not have to be recited mechanically, it is nonetheless crucial that a Daubert analysis of some form in fact be performed. Fuesting, 421 F.3d at 535. In Fuesting, we held that conclusory statements by the district court were not sufficient to show that a Daubert analysis was performed adequately. Id. (holding that a district court's statements finding an expert's credentials to be sufficient was not enough; the district court also needed to assess the reliability of the methodology used by the expert). Similarly, in this case, the district court's one sentence, stating that Prof. Anthony has sufficient expertise, is not enough to show that the district court applied the Daubert standard; the court provided no analysis of Prof. Anthony's methodology. Therefore, the admission of Prof. Anthony's testimony should not be given the deference normally afforded to a district court under the manifestly erroneous standard. When a district court fails to consider an essential Daubert factor, such as reliability, it has abused its discretion. See Smith v. Ford Motor Co., 215 F.3d 713, 717 (7th Cir. 2000). 49 The defendants contend that Prof. Anthony's testimony gave opinions 6 that were not founded in scientific, technical or specialized knowledge. Defendants' Br. at 30. We have stated that experts' work is admissible only to the extent that it is reasoned, uses the methods of the discipline, and is founded on data. Talking off the cuff — deploying neither data nor analysis — is not an acceptable methodology. Lang v. Kohl's Food Stores, Inc., 217 F.3d 919, 924 (7th Cir.2000). 50 Prof. Anthony did testify that he examined a number of depositions from McKesson employees, as well as the McKesson personnel policy manual, when formulating his opinions. However, his opinions in court were not tied to specific portions of the policy manual, and appeared to be general observations regarding what is normal or usual business practice. 7 As such, his testimony did not meet the requisite level of reliability. See Kumho Tire Co., 526 U.S. at 152, 119 S.Ct. 1167 (holding that the objective of Daubert is to ensure that an expert, whether basing testimony on professional studies or personal experience, employs in the courtroom the same level of intellectual rigor that characterizes the practice of an expert in the relevant field). 51 Even though the admission of Prof. Anthony's testimony was in error, the defendants must show that the introduction of such evidence violated their substantial rights in order to be entitled to relief under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 61. 8 The defendants objected to specific statements made by Prof. Anthony: (1) noting that there was no written job description for Ms. Naeem's position and opining that the absence of one is abnormal; (2) concluding that there was no consistency from one supervisor to another; (3) stating that Ms. Naeem's job duties as computer room supervisor and transportation coordinator seemed to be incompatible; and (4) stating that some of Ms. Naeem's job duties were extremely unusual. Defendants' Br. at 30. However, Ms. Hartley corroborated statements (1) and (2) while testifying when she admitted that there was no written job description for Ms. Naeem's position and that there were no written documents that set forth changes in the job responsibilities and duties expected of Ms. Naeem by her current supervisor as compared to her previous supervisors. 9 Tr.V at 386-87, 391-92. Moreover, Prof. Anthony's opinion that some of Ms. Naeem's job duties were extremely unusual was elicited by the defendants on cross-examination, Tr.VI at 517-18, and, when error is invited, not even plain error permits reversal. See United States v. Fulford, 980 F.2d 1110, 1116 (7th Cir.1992) (holding that a party who introduces testimony cannot later claim that such testimony is irrelevant and prejudicial). Finally, the defendants cross-examined Prof. Anthony regarding his statement that Ms. Naeem's duties as computer room supervisor and transportation coordinator were incompatible, and Prof. Anthony admitted that he did not perform a job analysis nor did he know the full extent of what she was expected to do in her position. Tr.VI at 513-14. Given that the objectionable testimony by Prof. Anthony was corroborated by other witnesses, elicited on cross-examination or otherwise discredited on cross-examination, there was no reversible error in the admission of Prof. Anthony's testimony.
52 At trial, David LaPorte testified for Ms. Naeem as an expert on DOT regulations governing post-accident drug testing. He testified that Ms. Naeem's failure to have Barden tested for drugs after his December 29, 1995, accident was not a violation of DOT regulations. The defendants offered no objection during Mr. LaPorte's direct examination when he was asked to give an opinion regarding whether the failure to test for drugs was a DOT violation. Tr.V at 307-08. 53 Before trial, however, the defendants filed a motion in limine to exclude the testimony of LaPorte. The defendants contended that his testimony about the applicable DOT regulations was irrelevant to the questions to be decided by the jury. They stressed that what was at issue was Mr. Montreuil's state of mind in suspending Ms. Naeem, not whether he was actually correct in believing that DOT regulations required drug testing after the Barden incident. The defendants further argued that LaPorte's testimony regarding McKesson's drug and alcohol testing policies was not needed to help the jury understand the evidence, and that such an opinion would usurp the jury's fact-finding role in their determination as to whether Mr. Montreuil acted reasonably under the McKesson policies. No additional argument was made at trial during LaPorte's testimony. The defendants did not raise their current argument, that LaPorte impermissibly provided conclusions of law, until their renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law or, alternatively, for a new trial. See R.288 at 12. In that motion, they argued that the testimony of David LaPorte was admitted in error because it allowed an expert witness to provide a legal interpretation and application of a federal regulation. See id. In their view, the court should instruct the jury on the applicable law, not witnesses. 54 To preserve an issue for appellate review, a party must make a proper objection at trial that alerts the court and opposing party to the specific grounds for the objection. United States v. Wynn, 845 F.2d 1439, 1442 (7th Cir.1988). An objection is proper when a timely objection or motion to strike appears of record, stating the specific ground of objection, if the specific ground was not apparent from the context.... Fed.R.Evid. 103(a)(1). Neither a general objection to the evidence nor a specific objection on other grounds will preserve the issue for review. Wynn, 845 F.2d at 1442; see also United States v. Laughlin, 772 F.2d 1382, 1392 (7th Cir.1985) (holding that defendant's objection to the admission of photographs on the ground of irrelevancy did not preserve objection under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b)). When a defendant does not object to the admission of evidence during the trial, the objection is waived and cannot be raised for the first time in a motion for new trial or on appeal. United States v. Hack, 205 F.2d 723, 727 (7th Cir.1953). In this case, the defendants did not raise their current objection to LaPorte's testimony in either their motion in limine or during the testimony itself. The defendants therefore waived their current objection to LaPorte's testimony. 55 In any event, we previously have stated that allowing a witness to testify as to a legal conclusion may cause the jury to accord too much weight to that testimony, and may infer that the jury should look to that witness for legal guidance. See Bammerlin v. Navistar Int'l Transp. Co., 30 F.3d 898, 900 (7th Cir.1994); Harbor Ins. Co. v. Cont'l Bank Corp., 922 F.2d 357, 366 (7th Cir.1991). In Bammerlin and Harbor Insurance, the expert witnesses were offering opinions about legal issues that ... determine[d] the outcome of a case. United States v. Sinclair, 74 F.3d 753, 757-58 n. 1 (7th Cir.1996) (citing cases). However, in the present case, the DOT regulations at issue do not determine the outcome of Ms. Naeem's claims; rather, they are only a piece of evidence regarding whether one of the disciplinary actions against Ms. Naeem was justified. 56 Moreover, even if LaPorte did provide impermissible testimony, it would not be grounds for reversal. Mr. Montreuil admitted at trial that he knew that the truck driven by Barden was not covered by the DOT regulations at the time he disciplined Ms. Naeem for failing to order post-accident drug testing. Therefore, his testimony was consistent with the testimony of Mr. LaPorte, and, consequently, there was no plain error. See also United States v. Duvall, 272 F.3d 825, 829 (7th Cir.2001) (holding that, even if expert testimony opining that drugs were packaged for distribution was admitted in error, the error was harmless because the defendant admitted he intended to distribute the drugs in question).