Opinion ID: 815532
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Testimony of Mr. Arms

Text: The district court excluded all of Mr. Arms’s testimony on the ground that his ignition theory did not satisfy the minimum indicia of reliability required by Daubert. We agree with the district court’s holding with regards to Mr. Arms’s testimony about the ignition sequence that started the fire. However, our inquiry 6 Case: 11-15011 Date Filed: 01/17/2013 Page: 7 of 12 into the reliability of Mr. Arms’ testimony does not end with a discussion of his ignition theory. Despite only discussing Mr. Arms’ testimony with regards to the specific ignition sequence, the district court excluded all of Mr. Arms potential testimony, including his testimony relating to the location of the fire’s origin. This sweeping exclusion constituted an abuse of discretion. Mr. Arms’s testimony that the fire originated from the dryer was rooted in his investigation of the scene of the fire and an examination of the dryer in accordance with the principles of the “NFPA 921” guide for fire and explosion investigations, a peer reviewed fire investigation guide that is the industry standard for fire investigation. Travelers Prop. & Cas. Corp. v. Gen. Elec. Co., 150 F. Supp. 2d 360, 366 (D. Conn. 2001) (NFPA 921 is “a peer reviewed and generally accepted standard in the fire investigation community”). By applying these principles to the distinctive burn patterns and other physical evidence he examined first-hand at the scene of the fire, Mr. Arms concluded that the fire began in the dryer area. Mr. Arms pointed to several specific pieces of evidence that supported his conclusion that the dryer was the origin of the fire to the exclusion of other possible sources of the fire in the laundry room. First, he noted that the burn patterns in the room in which the dryer was located indicated that the dryer was the center of the fire. Specifically, he observed that the wall directly behind the dryer was totally consumed and the wires in that wall had melted, suggesting that the fire 7 Case: 11-15011 Date Filed: 01/17/2013 Page: 8 of 12 was centered in the dryer area. Second, he noted there was a lack of arcing, which suggested that an electrical fault was not the cause of the fire. Third, and perhaps most persuasively, he observed that the linoleum floor directly beneath the dryer had had burned and stuck to the bottom of the dryer. This evidence suggested that the fire was located in the bottom part of the dryer. That the linoleum stuck to the bottom of the dryer ruled out the possibility that the fire started adjacent to the dryer or in the washing machine, as no other part of the floor, including the area directly under the washer, showed burns of remotely similar levels of severity as the floor under the dryer. As there was no other potential source of heat that could have damaged the linoleum under the dryer besides a fire in the dryer and no other part of the floor suffered similar levels of damage, Mr. Arms concluded that the origin of the fire came from inside the bottom part of the dryer. But the district court’s order did not address any of Mr. Arms’ testimony as it related to where the fire started. Contrary to what the district court held, Mr. Arms’ testimony regarding the physical origin of the fire was based on a widely accepted methodology and grounded in the available physical evidence. For these reasons, we hold that excluding that part of Mr. Arms’ testimony on Daubert grounds was an abuse of discretion. See City of Tuscaloosa v. Harcros Chem, Inc., 158 F.3d 548, 564 (11th Cir. 1999) (holding that “the district court abused its discretion in excluding admissible portions of [the expert’s] testimony by ruling 8 Case: 11-15011 Date Filed: 01/17/2013 Page: 9 of 12 that [the expert’s] testimony in its entirety was inadmissible”); see also Weisgram v. Marley Co., 169 F.3d 514, 518 (8th Cir. 1999) (holding that although fire investigation expert was not qualified to opine on whether heater had malfunctioned, he could testify about the origin of the fire), aff'd on other grounds, 528 U.S. 440 (2000). We reverse as to the exclusion of the part of Mr. Arms’ testimony that related to origin of the fire.