This action arises out of a motor vehicle accident between an automobile driven by Philnelius Snow and a tractor-trailer owned and operated by Charles Bailey Trucking (“CBT”)and driven by its employee, Travis Hickey. Plaintiff alleged two causes of action against CBT: 1) respondeat superior for the negligence of its employee, and 2) direct claims of negligence against CBT for negligent hiring, negligent training, negligent entrustment, negligent retention, negligent qualifying, and negligent supervision of Hickey (Plaintiff’s “Direct Negligence Claims”). Defendants argued that they are entitled to summary judgment on the Direct Negligence Claims and Plaintiff’s punitive damages claim.
Defendants filed a motion to exclude Plaintiff’s expert Adam Grill‘s testimony about CBT’s responsibilities as a motor carrier and the negligent training claim.
While parties occasionally file Daubert motions alongside summary judgment motions, such motions typically implicate a summary judgment issue such as causation. Here, the only issue on summary judgment relates to negligent training. The Court will consider Defendants’ motion to exclude Plaintiff’s expert Adam Grill’s testimony as it relates to CBT’s responsibilities as a motor carrier and the negligent training claim only, and finds it premature to address other potential issues at this time.
Trucking Expert Witness
Adam Grill has worked around large commercial vehicles and studied the intricacies of commercial vehicle transportation among the best in the industry. He received his certification as a commercial vehicle operator in 2005. He holds a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) with endorsements for hazardous materials, tankers, double trailers, triple trailers, passenger buses, and school buses. Grill is a certified director of safety (CDS).
He is certified for forklift operation, operation of longer combination vehicles (LCVs), crane hoist and rigging, aerial manlift, telehandler, and heavy equipment including payloaders and motor graders. Grill is a certified pilot car operator and flagger through Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Florida. He is currently an active truck driver, and an associate of Atlantic Pacific Resource Group.
Discussion by the Court
Grill’s expert report contended that “Charles Bailey is responsible to train and supervise their professional drivers” and “[a]ccording to industry standards, this collision was preventable on the part of Charles Bailey and Defendant Hickey.”
Defendants argued that the expert report and proposed testimony should be excluded because Grill’s opinions are not reliable and his testimony would not assist the trier of fact because his opinions merely offer legal conclusions.
Defendants argued that “Grill’s report merely regurgitates the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Rules (“FMCSRs”) and states that [CBT] failed to comply with the law.” According to Grill, CBT did not provide specific training to drivers on “visual search techniques” and if it had, then the collision between Snow and Hickey could have been prevented.
Grill asserted that CBT failed to satisfy the FMCSRs related to training. Grill’s testimony further asserted that:
A. Because the specific concepts involved in leading up to this accident, through proper education, training and including the proper mindset of a driver, it would be completely avoidable. In other words, the reasonable expectation of a driver to keep a proper visual search, have a plan, an advance plan for how to respond to hazards, would in a practical sense and through the testimony of the driver in this case, would have — would have allowed him to prevent this type of collision from occurring.
The Court held that Grill’s testimony that additional training would have prevented the collision is unreliable speculation and does not help the Court determine whether Plaintiff has met his burden as a matter of law.
Held
The Court excluded Adam Grill’s expert report and proposed testimony for the summary judgment motion. It granted in part Defendants’ motion for partial summary judgment as to Plaintiff’s claims of negligent hiring, negligent retention, negligent qualifying, negligent supervision, negligent entrustment, and punitive damages.
Key Takeaway:
A negligent training claim requires a showing that (1) the employer’s training was deficient, and (2) breach of that duty proximately caused Plaintiff’s injury. The Court is capable of referring to the FMCSRs and relevant case law to determine whether CBT’s training was legally deficient. Moreover, Grill’s testimony that additional training would have prevented the collision is unreliable speculation.
Case Details:
| Case Caption: | Snow V. Charles Bailey Trucking, Inc. Et Al |
| Docket Number: | 1:22cv706 |
| Court: | United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division |
| Order Date: | August 07, 2024 |
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