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Mark Kedrowski v. Lycoming Engines, a division of AVCO Corporation. MN Expert Witness, Foundation
The plaintiff crashed his single-engine airplane in 2010 and told a first responder that he lost power. He sued the manufacturer of the engine and fuel pump. His expert witness, Donald Sommer, was a mechanical engineer and licensed pilot who specialized in accident reconstruction. The expert testified, and the jury returned a verdict for $27.7 million.
However, the defendant renewed its motion for judgment as a matter of law, and the trial court granted the motion. The plaintiff appealed, and the case was ultimately heard by the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Before granting the defendant's motion for judgment, the trial court had first ruled that the expert's testimony as to causation should not have been admitted. It based this upon the fact that the expert had not been consistent when explaining the underlying basis for certain tests that he had performed.
However, the Supreme Court reversed the lower court, on the grounds that the entirety of the causation testimony should not have been excluded. In particular, the court pointed out that all other possible causes had been excluded, and it would have been a reasonable inference for the jury to conclude that the pump was the cause.
The fact that there was more than one basis meant that it was proper for the jury to consider the evidence. Since the evidence was properly excluded in part, the Supreme Court remanded the case for a new trial on the issue of liability.
No. A17-0538 (Minn. Sept. 11, 2019).
Please see the original opinion for the court's exact language.
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Richard P. Clem is an attorney and continuing legal education (CLE) provider in Minnesota. He has been in private practice in the Twin Cities for 25 years. He has a J.D., cum laude, from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul and a B.A. in History from the University of Minnesota. His reported cases include: Asociacion Nacional de Pescadores a Pequena Escala o Artesanales de Colombia v. Dow Quimica de Colombia, 988 F.2d 559, rehearing denied, 5 F.3d 530 (5th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1041 (1994); LaMott v. Apple Valley Health Care Center, 465 N.W.2d 585 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991); Abo el Ela v. State, 468 N.W.2d 580 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991).
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