After Aries Marine filed its Complaint for Exoneration from or Limitation of Liability (the “Limitation Action), seven individuals filed claims for personal injury, including Glenn Gibson, Ronald Williams, Luis H. Jimenez (aka Gilberto Gomez Rojas), Gabriel Vilano, Lee Bob Rose, Tomas Arce-Perez, and Calvin Abshire.
The first six Claimants referenced above have retained Glenn Hebert as an expert in vocational rehabilitation and/or life care planning. They have also retained Randy Rice as an economic expert.
It appears undisputed for purposes of this motion that Rozas is an undocumented immigrant who is not authorized to work in the United States. During depositions and discovery requests in connection with this matter, Rozas repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination, refusing to answer questions related to his citizenship status and personal history.
Before the Court in this limitation-of-liability action arising from the capsizing of the liftboat RAM XVIII is Petitioner Aries Marine Corporation’s motion to exclude the testimony of two of Claimants’ experts—vocational-rehabilitation specialist Glenn Hebert and economist G. Randolph Rice—under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert v Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 113 S. Ct. 2786, 125 L. Ed. 2d 469 (1993).
Economics Expert Witness
G. Randolph Rice is a well renowned economist. He has a PhD. from the University of Kentucky.
Vocational Rehabilitation Expert Witness
Glenn Hebert, MRC is a licensed Rehabilitation Counselor and certified Life Care Planner. He has a master’s degree in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling.
Discussion by the Court
Aries contended that (1) Hebert’s opinions about Claimant Luis Jimenez’s future lost wages are unreliable because Hebert is not qualified to opine on wage rates in the Mexican labor market; (2) Hebert’s opinions about the cost of Jimenez’s future surgeries are unreliable because Jimenez has testified that he is “not seeking further surgery,” and Jimenez’s doctor has not recommended surgeries of the sort discussed in Hebert’s report; and (3) Hebert’s opinions about the cost of Claimant Glen Gibson’s future lumbar fusion are unreliable because Gibson’s doctor has not recommended that Gibson undergo that procedure. As for Rice, Aries briefly contended that the Court should exclude his opinions because they are based on Hebert’s unreliable opinions.
However, the “danger that the factfinder will place improper weight on [the experts’] opinions is not implicated here” because the Court “is capable of assessing the probative value of the evidence and the weight [each expert’s] testimony should be given.”
Held
Therefore, the Court denied Aries’s motion to exclude the Claimants’ expert testimony provided by Glenn Hebert and G. Randolph Rice.
Key Takeaway:
In conclusion, Aries has not persuaded the Court that the alleged flaws in Hebert’s and Rice’s expert opinions cannot be adequately attacked through “[v]igorous cross-examination, presentation of contrary evidence, and careful [attention to] the burden of proof.”
Case Details:
| Case Caption: | In The Matter Of Aries Marine Corporation Et Al |
| Docket Number: | 2:19cv10850 |
| Court: | United States District Court, Louisiana Eastern |
| Order Date: | November 20, 2024 |
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