Opinion ID: 1435188
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Strict Liability Defective Design Claim Against New Holland and Ford

Text: Under Missouri law, to prevail in a products liability action under a theory of defective design, Menz must demonstrate (1) the defendants sold the product in the course of their business, (2) the product was then in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous when put to a reasonably anticipated use, (3) the product was used in a manner reasonably anticipated, and (4) Menz was injured as a direct result of such defective condition as existed when the product was sold. Waggoner v. Mercedes Benz of N. Am., Inc., 879 S.W.2d 692, 694 (Mo.Ct.App.1994). The district court found Menz failed to show he was injured as a direct result of a defective condition that existed when the tractor was sold. New Holland, 460 F.Supp.2d at 1062. The district court excluded Ryan's expert opinion that the accident was caused by the tractor's defective nature, noting Ryan was unable to verify several critical components of the accident. [7] Id. at 1063 n. 8. On appeal, Menz argues the district court erred by finding Ryan's expert testimony speculative and therefore inadmissible, and attacks the district court's reliance on several critical components as a basis for excluding Ryan's causation opinion. Under Federal Rule of Evidence 702, [8] a qualified expert witness's opinion is admissible if, among other things, it is based upon sufficient facts or data. The proponent of the expert testimony bears the burden to prove its admissibility. See Lauzon v. Senco Prods., Inc., 270 F.3d 681, 686 (8th Cir.2001). We review the district court's exclusion of such evidence for abuse of discretion. See Smith v. Cangieter, 462 F.3d 920, 923 (8th Cir.2006) (citing Gen. Elec. Co. v. Joiner, 522 U.S. 136, 142-43, 118 S.Ct. 512, 139 L.Ed.2d 508 (1997)). We find no abuse of discretion in the present case. In opining the tractor's defective nature caused the accident, Ryan did not believe it was necessary to reconstruct the events preceding the accident; rather, he repeatedly testified the only way to make the tractor safe was by installing a ROPS. Ryan failed to offer any theory, supported by or based on sufficient facts or data, regarding how to design out the tractor's alleged inherent instability. Considering the deficiencies at the core of Ryan's opinion as well as his inability (or his apparent indifference to the need) to reconstruct the accident scientifically, Ryan's conclusion the tractor's instability caused Menz's accident was mere speculation and conjecture. See J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. v. Gen. Motors Corp., 243 F.3d 441, 444 (8th Cir.2001). As the Supreme Court has recognized: [N]othing in either Daubert or the Federal Rules of Evidence requires a district court to admit opinion evidence that is connected to existing data only by the ipse dixit of the expert. A court may conclude that there is simply too great an analytical gap between the data and the opinion proffered. Gen. Elec. Co., 522 U.S. at 146, 118 S.Ct. 512. The district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding Ryan's expert opinion, leaving Menz without the requisite expert testimony to establish causation on his defective design claim. We therefore affirm the grant of summary judgment in favor of New Holland and Ford.