Opinion ID: 2551235
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Refusal to Conduct a Pretrial DiPetrillo Hearing

Text: The plaintiff also argues that the trial justice erred in denying her motion for a DiPetrillo hearing, based on her contention that there was no scientific evidence to support the proposition that smoking caused either the initial nonunion, or the subsequent nonunion of the scaphoid bone. The plaintiff argues that in accordance with Rule 104(a) of the Rhode Island Rules of Evidence [11] and DiPetrillo v. Dow Chemical Co., 729 A.2d 677 (R.I. 1999), the trial justice was required to act as the court's gatekeeper and conduct an evidentiary hearing to determine whether medical opinion testimony, which she contends is novel scientific evidence, was sufficiently reliable to place before the jury. The defendant responds that this evidence is not a novel medical theory and thus, the trial justice was not required to hold a DiPetrillo hearing. In denying the motion, the trial justice determined: [T]he [c]ourt is sufficiently satisfied in looking at the material that was provided that [this is] not a novel issue. It's not an issue that the [c]ourt is concerned can't be adequately substantiated and explored by the plaintiff at trial. I don't think it requires    [a] Daubert or DiPetrillo hearing. In DiPetrillo, 729 A.2d at 686, this Court addressed the landmark United States Supreme Court opinion, Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993) ( Daubert ) and proceeded to offer guidance on the standard for admissibility that should govern preliminary hearings and hearings out of the presence of the jury. DiPetrillo, 729 A.2d at 686. Specifically, we noted: Such hearings would address any genuine issue of the validity of the scientific theory to be applied in cases, for example, of mass toxic torts, products liability, medical malpractice, environmental, criminal cases, or in the emerging fields of genetic engineering and organ harvesting, in which evidence of toxicology, epidemiology, immunology, risk analysis, or genetics to name a few may be presented. Id. We further stated that in such cases, within discretion, the trial justice must control the gateway for expert scientific testimony id., by conducting an early, preliminary assessment of the evidence in accordance with Rule 104: Faced with a proffer of expert scientific testimony, then, the trial judge must determine at the outset, pursuant to Rule 104(a) whether the expert is proposing to testify to (1) scientific knowledge that (2) will assist the trier of fact to understand or determine the fact in issue. This entails a preliminary assessment of whether the reasoning or methodology underlying the testimony is scientifically valid and of whether the reasoning or methodology properly can be applied to the facts in issue. DiPetrillo, 729 A.2d at 686-87 (quoting Daubert, 509 U.S. at 592-93, 113 S.Ct. 2786). In the case before us, the trial justice ruled that a DiPetrillo hearing was not necessary because, based on the literature provided by defendant, the deleterious effect of smoking on bone healing was neither novel nor a cutting-edge medical or scientific breakthrough, such that there was a need for an evidentiary hearing to determine its validity. The plaintiff did not produce any evidence or offer any testimony to the contrary and, in the context of this case, we are not persuaded that a DiPetrillo hearing was necessary. Indeed, on appeal, plaintiffs chief complaint about the smoking evidence centers on her discovery-violation contentions and the fact that Dr. Akelman's opinion that the effects of smoking on initial bone healing was not as defendant represented to the trial justice during the preliminary hearings. (The plaintiff characterizes this as a fraud upon the [c]ourt, an issue we shall address herein). Accordingly, we are satisfied that the trial justice did not abuse his discretion in refusing to conduct a DiPetrillo hearing, nor did he err in declining to exclude the evidence in limine. Once the trial was in full swing, the trial justice revisited the issue of Dr. Akelman's testimony and conducted an evidentiary hearing, outside the presence of the jury, concerning the scope of Dr. Akelman's testimony. The trial justice ultimately limited Dr. Akelman's testimony to the effects of smoking on the post-surgical nonunion, finding that there was inadequate foundation to allow testimony about the effects of smoking on plaintiffs initial nonunion. Additionally, although plaintiff posed some objections to the testimony about smoking, she failed to object on the basis that the evidence lacked scientific or medical reliability or validity.