Opinion ID: 146651
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: h.m.s. surprise witness

Text: Defendants also contend that they were ambushed by Meaux's decision to have Carsten Ennemann testify about lost profits, and not Rene Godoy, who took over as president of Meaux after Fogleman's resignation. Wrong again. Whether we view the court's decision to allow Ennemann to testify about lost profits as a modification of the pretrial order or a ruling on the propriety of the designation of the witness, we review for abuse of discretion. See Geiserman v. MacDonald, 893 F.2d 787, 790 (5th Cir.1990). Defendants contend that when they deposed Ennemann, he denied having knowledge of the underlying documents Meaux would rely on at trial to prove its quantum of damages. At trial, the court rejected defendants' assertion that allowing Ennemann to present such evidence was unfair surprise. Counsel had the relevant documents prior to Ennemann's deposition and could have questioned him to plumb his familiarity, or lack thereof, with Meaux's operations and profitability. At trial, the district court allowed counsel to engage in voir dire to test Ennemann's knowledge. The court concluded that Ennemann had personal knowledge of Meaux's profitability, which he garnered in his capacity as CFO of Muehlhan. The foregoing conclusion is well supported in the court's log. Moreover, Meaux timely designated Ennemann in the pretrial order as a fact or lay opinion witness. See United States v. Valencia, 600 F.3d 389, 416 & n. 4 (5th Cir.2010) (recognizing that corporate officer who provides projections or opinions about changes in profits is not an expert witness, but rather, a lay witness under Federal Rule of Evidence 701); Tex. A&M Research Found. v. Magna Transp., Inc., 338 F.3d 394, 403 (5th Cir.2003) (same). As such, the heightened disclosure requirements for an expert witness were not implicated. Cf. FED.R.CIV.P. 26(a)(2); Bradley v. United States, 866 F.2d 120, 126-27 (5th Cir.1989) (holding that district court abused its discretion in allowing late-designated expert witnesses to testify). Ennemann works on the starboard side of the Atlantic and does not personally observe Meaux's day-to-day operations. He does not paint oil rigs or sandblast ships. However, as Chief Financial Officer, he is intimately familiar with Meaux's financial performance. It would defy reason to say that the district court abused its discretion in allowing him to testify about such matters. Finally, there was no surprise in Meaux's election to call Ennemann to testify, and not Rene Godoy. Meaux designated Ennemann in the pretrial order as a witness familiar with the financial damages sustained by Meaux. Merely because Godoy could have also testified about these matters as well does not mean he had to. In sum, defendants have not shown that the court abused its discretion in allowing Ennemann's testimony to reach the jury.