Guay v. Sig Sauer, Inc.

CourtDistrict Court, D. New Hampshire
DecidedJuly 11, 2022
Docket1:20-cv-00736
StatusUnknown

This text of Guay v. Sig Sauer, Inc. (Guay v. Sig Sauer, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Hampshire primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Guay v. Sig Sauer, Inc., (D.N.H. 2022).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

Kyle Guay

v. Civil No. 20-cv-736-LM Opinion No. 2022 DNH 082 P Sig Sauer, Inc.

O R D E R

Plaintiff Kyle Guay brings this products liability case against Sig Sauer, Inc. Guay alleges that his Sig Sauer P320 pistol fired a bullet without a trigger pull when he was attempting to remove the gun from its holster. The bullet struck Guay in the leg. Sig Sauer moves to exclude Guay’s expert witnesses, Peter Villani and Timothy Hicks, both of whom opine about the mechanics of the P320 pistol and its alleged defects. Doc. nos. 26, 27. Contingent on excluding Villani and Hicks, Sig Sauer moves for summary judgment on the ground that Guay cannot carry his burden to prove Sig Sauer sold the gun in an unreasonably dangerous condition. Doc. no. 28. Sig Sauer also argues that Guay cannot show causation. Guay objects. For the following reasons, the court denies Sig Sauer’s motion to exclude Villani (doc. no. 26) in part and grants it in part. The court denies Sig Sauer’s motion to exclude Hicks (doc. no. 27), and the court denies Sig Sauer’s motion for summary judgment (doc. no. 28). STANDARD OF REVIEW Federal Rule of Evidence 702 provides the requirements for expert witness testimony:

A witness who is qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education may testify in the form of an opinion or otherwise if:

(a) the expert’s scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will help the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue;

(b) the testimony is based on sufficient facts or data;

(c) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods; and

(d) the expert has reliably applied the principles and methods to the facts of the case.

Based on those requirements, an expert witness’s testimony may be challenged on the grounds that the witness is not qualified to give the opinion, the opinion is not based on specialized knowledge, the opinion is not reliable, or the opinion is not relevant. Carrozza v. CVS Pharm., Inc., 992 F.3d 44, 56 (1st Cir. 2021); Bogosian v. Mercedes-Benz of N. Am., 104 F.3d 472, 476 (1st Cir. 1997). The proponent of the expert witness bears the burden of showing that the testimony is admissible. See Martínez v. United States, 33 F.4th 20, 24 (1st Cir. 2022). The judge has a gatekeeping role to ensure that an expert witness’s testimony is both reliable and relevant. Id. In carrying out that function, the judge focuses on the process that generated the opinion, not on the opinion itself. López- Ramírez v. Toledo-González, 32 F.4th 87, 94 (1st Cir. 2022) (citing Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharms., Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 595 (1993)). “There is an important difference between what is unreliable support and what a trier of fact may conclude is insufficient support for an expert’s conclusion.” Milward v. Acuity Specialty

Prods. Grp., Inc., 639 F.3d 11, 15 (1st Cir. 2011); López-Ramírez, 32 F.4th at 94. “Vigorous cross-examination, presentation of contrary evidence, and careful instruction on the burden of proof are the traditional and appropriate means of attacking shaky but admissible evidence.” Daubert, 509 U.S.at 596.

BACKGROUND On the evening of January 28, 2020, Guay was wearing his Sig Sauer P320

gun in a Sig Sauer holster on the right side of his belt while walking his dogs. After the walk, Guay started to remove the holstered gun by pushing down on his belt and pulling up on the holstered gun. The gun fired, and a bullet shot through Guay’s right thigh. Guay asserts that he did not pull the gun’s trigger. Rather, Guay contends that the gun fired because a defect in its design or manufacture allows it to fire when it is jostled under certain conditions.

DISCUSSION Sig Sauer moves to exclude the opinions of Guay’s two proposed expert witnesses: Peter Villani and Timothy Hicks. Sig Sauer contends that they are unqualified to render expert opinions and that their opinions are unreliable. Sig Sauer also moves for summary judgment, premised primarily on the exclusion of Guay’s expert witnesses. Guay objects to excluding his experts, arguing that they are qualified and that their conclusions rest on reliable foundations. Guay likewise opposes summary judgment. After the motions at issue were fully briefed, the court held a hearing during which both Villani and Hicks testified and were subjected to

cross-examination by Sig Sauer.

I. Motion to Exclude Opinions of Peter Villani Villani provided an expert report and a supplemental report in which he identifies design and manufacturing defects in Guay’s P320 and other “exemplar” P320s. In his report, Villani concludes that those defects could cause the guns to fire without a trigger pull. Sig Sauer moves to exclude Villani’s opinions on the

grounds that he is not qualified to give the opinions in his report and that his opinions are not reliable.

A. Villani’s Reports 1. Experience In his curriculum vitae, Villani states that from 2001 to the present he has

worked for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Police as a primary evidence custodian, senior firearms instructor/armorer, and operations officer with the rank of Major. Villani’s duties include detailed examination of the guns used in the department and cleaning the guns once a year. During the Daubert hearing, Villani testified that he also investigated an incident in which a police officer who worked for him was shot after his P320 discharged without a trigger pull. From 1995 to 1999, Villani managed a shooting range. In that position Villani had a variety of duties, including cleaning and repair of customers’ guns and holding gun safety classes. In that role, Villani also evaluated personal gun

collections for consignment sales. Finally, Villani has been certified by Sig Sauer as an “armorer” for several gun models, including the P320. The P320 armorer’s course, which was taught by a Sig Sauer employee, required Villani to learn the P320’s components in detail and pass a written examination about the P320’s components.

2. Opinion

For purposes of his first report, Villani examined two “exemplar” P320s and two P320s “in evidence. The two “in evidence” P320s that Villani examined were Guay’s gun, which was involved in the incident that is the subject of this case, and a P320 involved in a different incident that is not the subject of this case (the “Schneider P320”). Villani test fired the two “exemplar” guns. He did not test fire the Schneider P320 or Guay’s P320.

In his report, Villani reviews what he observed when he examined each gun. He notes the condition of various internal components and other features particular to each gun. Villani explains how he inspected their interior components for wear, alignment, cleanliness, and function; took measurements; and compared components and conditions. Villani also recorded a variety of design and manufacturing defects for each gun. In particular, Villani observed that some internal components had wear or rounding of their edges, which he described as “rollover.” Villani opines that this wear results from insufficient contact between internal parts. In essence, the parts’

surfaces are rough and have excess material on them.

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