Plaintiffs Kyle and Annaleah Justice raised claims of negligence and strict liability against Defendants Bestway (USA), Inc. and Rural King under the Missouri Wrongful Death Statute. Plaintiffs’ claims arose from the drowning death of their minor daughter, E.M.J., in an above-ground pool on August 3, 2019.
Rural King argued that certain opinions of Plaintiffs’ retained human factors expert, Peggy Shibata, should be excluded. Shibata opined that Rural King failed to perform any hazard identification or risk assessment for the subject pool design. Moreover, Rural King did not perform any testing to identify potential design defects related to the climbability of the subject pool wall prior to, or after, selling the subject pool. Rural King contended that Shibata is unqualified to provide opinions about retail practices.
Plaintiffs’ consumer product regulatory expert, Joseph Mohorovic, opined that, in sourcing the subject pool from Bestway, Rural King failed to comply with the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s best practices for purchasing professionals procuring consumer products for export to the U.S.
Rural King argued that Mohorovic’s opinions are not relevant because he relied on voluntary guidance of the CPSC to “attempt to create a heightened duty of care under Missouri law.”
Mechanical Engineering Expert Witness
Peggy Shibata holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering as well as master’s degrees in both mechanical and biomedical engineering. Shibata specializes in mechanical engineering and biomechanics, with particular expertise in accident reconstruction, rigid body dynamics, computational modeling and analysis, human injury tolerance, and injury analyses associated with transportation, recreational activities and equipment, and falls.
Consumer Product Safety Expert Witness
Joseph Mohorovic was the former Commissioner of the United States Consumer Products Safety Commission (“CPSC”) and has spent much of his career in the private sector advising companies on hazard analysis, risk assessment, and regulatory compliance. A board-certified product safety expert, he specializes in adverse event analysis, regulatory compliance counseling, expert testimony and dispute resolution.
Discussion by the Court
The Court held that the challenged opinions of Shibata and Mohorovic, which relate specifically to whether Rural King violated a duty of care to Plaintiffs, will be excluded because they are no longer relevant to the issues in this case. Because the Court previously granted summary judgment in favor of Rural King as to Plaintiffs’ negligence claim against it, Rural King’s alleged duty and breach are no longer at issue.
All of Mohorovic’s opinions and the three challenged opinions of Shibata relate specifically to whether Rural King had a duty to Plaintiffs that they breached; the opinions served no other purpose. Without any need to establish the elements of negligence against Rural King, the challenged opinions of these proposed experts will no longer be helpful to the jury and will therefore be excluded. Moreover, the challenged opinions of Shibata could mislead the jury as to Rural King’s duties.
Key Takeaway:
Because the Court previously granted summary judgment in favor of Rural King as to the Plaintiffs’ negligence claim against it, there was no need to establish the elements of negligence against Rural King. Therefore, the Court decided that the challenged opinions of Shibata and Mohorovic will be of little assistance to the jury.
Case Details:
| Case Caption: | Kyle Justice V. Bestway USA, Inc. Bestway USA, Inc. |
| Docket Number: | 4:22cv50 |
| Court Name: | United States District Court, Missouri Eastern |
| Order Date: | October 31, 2024 |
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