Saturday, February 14, 2004

Second Circuit Affirms Exclusion of Design Defect and Accident Reconstruction Testimony

In a published opinion, the Second Circuit has affirmed the trial court's exclusion of expert testimony from three engineering and accident reconstruction witnesses who opined that the injuries sustained by plaintiffs in an automobile accident were attributable to the vehicle's defective design. See Zaremba v. General Motors Corp., No. 03-7565 (2d Cir. Feb. 13, 2004) (Cardamone, Cabranes, & Mukasey, JJ.).

posted by pn at 12:41 PM  

Fed. R. Evid. 702: If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise, if (1) the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods, and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.