In Dennis Reedy v. CSX Transportation, Inc., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36539, the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania denied the parties’ cross-motions to exclude the testimony of liability expert witnesses. Plaintiff Reedy claims negligence against the defendant CSX for injuries sustained on his job at Keystone Iron & Metal Co.
The plaintiff attacked defense expert witness Mr. Daum’s reliance on his inspection of the rail car in November 2006 because it was over one year after the accident. The defense attacked the plaintiff’s mechanical failure expert witness, Mr. Tucker arguing that he “failed to employ any scientific or technical method or procedure” in support of his opinions.
On May 18, 2007, the court decided:
The parties’ cross-Motions to exclude the testimony of liability experts (Docs. 15 & 17) are DENIED, consistent with the analyses in the above Opinion. In addition, the Defendant may submit, within eleven (11) days of the date of this Order, the affidavit of an appropriate CSX representative stating on personal knowledge that, if repairs were made to the Rail Car’s handbrake housing, they would be reflected in the AAR-CRB History or some other existing documentation.