Plaintiff, Luvelle James alleged that during a winter storm on January 6, 2022, his car was struck on Interstate 55 by an Aramark truck being driven by Steven Moore. As a result of this crash, Plaintiff alleged injuries to his back, neck, and head. He sought damages for past and future medical bills, past and future mental and physical pain and suffering, past and future lost wages, the loss of earning capacity, and loss of enjoyment of life.
James alleged claims of negligence (Count I), negligence per se (Count II) and negligent hiring, training and supervision against Defendants Steven Moore and Aramark Uniform & Career Apparel, LLC. He also sought punitive damages against both Defendants.
Plaintiff’s expert Michael Connelly testified that Defendant Moore failed to meet industry standards of care for a commercial driver in his operation of the Aramark truck on the day of the accident. Second, that Defendant Aramark failed to meet industry standards of care for a motor carrier with respect to Aramark’s training, supervision, and monitoring practices over its employee, Steven Moore. Defendants filed a motion to exclude Connelly’s testimony.
Transportation Safety Expert Witness
Michael Connelly is the president of Transhield, Inc. He and the Company specialize in providing third party safety and compliance solutions to transportation, distribution, and logistics companies nationwide.
A graduate of Clemson University, Connelly has been in the transportation industry for over 20 years. A licensed CDL driver, he has served many operational roles in both the Truckload and LTL industry sectors. Upon entering the field of transportation safety, he quickly rose to the top of an industry leading fleet in Western Maryland.
Discussion by the Court
Defendants did not challenge Connelly’s qualifications. Instead, Defendants argued that Connelly’s opinions were not based on sufficient facts to be reliable and helpful to the jury.
Failure to Consider Deposition Testimony
First, Defendants contended that Connelly’s opinions were unreliable because Connelly did not consider or even review the testimony of Plaintiff James, and that Connelly therefore inaccurately stated that the road conditions were disputed at the time of the accident. Defendants maintained that James admitted the road was not snow-covered until he stopped on the interstate immediately before the accident. Similarly, Defendants pointed out, Defendant Moore testified there was no snow or ice on the road until just before the accident.
Both parties therefore appeared to agree that there was no snow on the roadway until just before the accident; however, what they mean by those statements could be different. Plaintiff James’s actual testimony is that “when I got to the major incident and stopped the car, the road was snow covered because there wasn’t – wasn’t nothing moving.”
Defendants also asserted that Connelly improperly relied on a Missouri Highway Patrol officer’s testimony regarding the severity of the road conditions. Defendants argued that the officer could not have known the road conditions at the time of the accident because he did not arrive at the scene until sometime later.
Because Connelly based his opinions on this allegedly incomplete or misleading information, Defendants said that his testimony should be excluded. However, the Court held that Connelly’s opinion was not fundamentally unsupported and that the Defendants’ concerns about any “cherry-picked” facts may be addressed through cross-examination.
Other Accidents on the Interstate
Next, Connelly’s opinion stated that Defendant Moore would have passed at least four accidents prior to the collision with Plaintiff.
However, Connelly admitted he was mistaken, and the four accidents to which he referred actually happened after the parties’ collision.
The Court held that Connelly may therefore not testify as to the existence of the four accidents.
Opinion Regarding when to Slow Vehicle
Next, Defendants addressed Connelly’s opinion that Defendant Moore waited too long to slow his vehicle. Defendants complained that Connelly improperly “assumed that Moore encountered hazardous weather conditions well before” the time and location of the accident. Defendants quibble again with the testimony from the Plaintiff, Defendant, and the highway patrol officer. Again, as with the question of when the roads became snow-covered, the Court held that the factual basis for Connelly’s opinion was subject to cross-examination.
Citation for driving too fast
Defendant objected to Connelly’s report stating that Defendant Moore was ‘cited’ for driving too fast. Connelly now admits that Defendant Moore received no citation or ‘ticket’ for driving too fast for conditions. The Court held that Connelly may not testify that such a citation exists.
Held
The Court granted in part and denied in part the Defendants’ motion to exclude the testimony of Michael Connelly.
Key Takeaway:
Because Connelly’s opinion is not fundamentally unsupported, Defendants’ concerns about any “cherry-picked” facts may be addressed through cross-examination. After all, the factual basis of an expert opinion goes to the credibility of the testimony, not the admissibility, and it is up to the opposing party to examine the factual basis for the opinion in cross-examination.
Case Details:
| Case Caption: | James V. Moore Et Al |
| Docket Number: | 1:23cv115 |
| Court: | United States District Court, Missouri Eastern |
| Order Date: | February 14, 2025 |
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