Tyree v. Boston Scientific Corp.

54 F. Supp. 3d 501, 2014 WL 5486694, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155138
District Court, S.D. West Virginia·Decided October 29, 2014·No. Civil Action No. 2:12-cv-08633·Published·Cited by 56 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

(Daubert Motions)

JOSEPH R. GOODWIN, District Judge.

The following motions have been brought by the defendant, Boston Scientific Corporation (“BSC”): (1) Defendant’s Motion to Exclude Plaintiffs’ Experts’ Opinion that Polypropylene Mid-Urethral Slings Are Defective [Docket 227]; (2) Defendant’s Motion to Exclude the Opinions and Testimony of Michael Thomas Margol-is, M.D. [Docket 237](3) Defendant’s Motion to Exclude the Opinions and Testimony of Richard W. Trepeta, M.D. [Docket 235]; (4) Defendant’s Motion to Exclude the Opinions and Testimony of Jimmy W. Mays, Ph.D. and Samuel P. Gido, Ph.D. [Docket 221]; (5) Defendant’s Motion to Exclude the Opinions and Testimony of Peggy Pence, Ph.D., RAC, FRAPS [Docket 219]; (6) Defendant’s Motion to Exclude the Opinions and Testimony of Thomas H. Barker, Ph.D. [Docket 223]; (7) Defendant’s Motion to Exclude the Opinions and Testimony of Donald R. Ostergard, M.D. [Docket 217]; (8) Defendant’s Motion to Exclude the Opinions and Testimony of Vladimir Iakovlev, M.D. [Docket 225]; (9) Defendant’s Motion to Exclude the Opinions and Testimony of Jerry Blaivas, M.D. [Docket 239]; (10) Defendant’s Motion to Exclude the Opinions and Testimony of Alison Vredenburgh, Ph.D., CPE [Docket 241]; (11) Defendant’s Motion to Exclude the Opinions and Testimony of Bruce Allen Rosenzweig, M.D. [Docket 251]; (12) Defendant’s Motion to Exclude the Opinions of Christopher Walker, M.D. [Docket 247]; and (13) Defendant’s Motion to Strike Rebuttal Report of Dr. Abbas Shobeiri [Docket 400].

The following motions have been brought by the plaintiffs: (1) Plaintiffs’ Motion to Exclude the Testimony of Stephen H. Spiegelberg, Ph.D. [Docket 215]; (2) Plaintiffs Motion to Exclude the Testimony of Stephen F. Badylak, D.V.M., Ph. D., M.D. [Docket 213]; (3) Plaintiffs’ Motion to Exclude the Testimony of Gary L. Winn, Ph.D. [Docket 229]; (4) Plaintiffs’ Motion to Exclude or Limit Testimony of Christine Brauer, Ph.D. [Docket 231]; (5) Plaintiffs’ Motion to Limit the Testimony of Patrick Culligan, M.D. [Docket 233]; and (6) Plaintiffs’ Motion to Limit the Testimony of Lonny Green, M.D. [Docket 354],

For the reasons explained below, the defendant’s motion with respect to Plaintiffs’ Experts’ Opinion that Polypropylene Mid-Urethral Slings Are Defective [Docket 227] is DENIED. The defendant’s motion with respect to Dr. Margolis [Docket 237] is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART and RESERVED IN PART. The defendant’s motion with respect to Dr. Trepeta [Docket 235] is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The defendant’s motion with respect to Drs. Mays and Gido [Docket 221] is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The defendant’s motion with respect to Dr. Pence [219] is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The defendant’s motion with respect to Dr. Barker [Docket 223] is GRANTED. The defendant’s motion with respect to Dr. Ostergard [Docket 217] is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The defendant’s motion with respect to Dr. Ia-kovlev [Docket 225] is GRANTED. The defendant’s motion with respect to Dr. [515]*515Blaivas [Docket 239] is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The defendant’s motion with respect to Dr. Vredenburgh [Docket 241] is GRANTED. The defendant’s motion with respect to Dr. Rosenzweig [Docket 251] is DENIED. The defendant’s motion with respect to Dr. Walker [Docket 247] is DENIED. The defendant’s motion to strike the rebuttal report of Dr. Shobeiri [Docket 400] is GRANTED.

The plaintiffs’ motion with respect to Dr. Spiegelberg [Docket 215] is RESERVED IN PART and GRANTED IN PART. The plaintiffs’ motion with respect to Dr. Bady-lak [Docket 213] is RESERVED IN PART and GRANTED IN PART. The plaintiffs’ motion with respect to Dr. Winn [Docket 229] is GRANTED. The plaintiffs’ motion with respect to Dr. Brauer [Docket 231] is GRANTED. The plaintiffs’ motion with respect to Dr. Culligan [Docket 233] is GRANTED. The plaintiffs’ motion with respect to Dr. Green [Docket 354] is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.

I. Background

This consolidated case resides in one of seven MDLs assigned to me by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation concerning the use of transvaginal surgical mesh to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. In the seven MDLs, there are over 60,000 cases currently pending, over 13,000 of which are in the Boston Scientific Corporation MDL, MDL 2326. In this particular case, the four consolidated plaintiffs were surgically implanted with the Obtryx Transobturator Mid-Urethral Sling System (“the Ob-tryx”), a mesh product manufactured by BSC. (See Pretrial Order # 78 [Docket 9], at 1-2).1 All of the plaintiffs received their surgeries in West Virginia. They claim that as a result of implantation of the Obtryx, they have experienced “erosion, mesh contraction, infection, fistula, inflammation, scar tissue, organ perforation, dys-pareunia (pain during sexual intercourse), blood loss, neuropathic and other acute and chronic nerve damage and pain, pu-dendal nerve damage, pelvic floor damage, and chronic pelvic pain.” (Id. at 4 (quoting the master complaint)). The plaintiffs allege negligence; strict liability for design defect; strict liability for manufacturing defect; strict liability for failure to warn; breach of express warranty; breach of implied warranty; and punitive damages. (Id. at 2). The spouse of one plaintiff (Ms. Tyree) has also alleged loss of consortium. (Id.). The parties have retained experts to render opinions regarding the elements of these causes of action, and the instant motions involve the parties’ efforts to exclude or limit the experts’ opinions and testimony pursuant to Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993).

II. Legal Standard

Under Federal Rule of Evidence 702, expert testimony is admissible if the ex[516]*516pert is “qualified ... by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education,” and if his testimony is (1) helpful to the trier of fact in understanding the evidence or determining a fact in issue; (2) “based upon sufficient facts or data”; and (3) “the product of reliable principles and methods” that (4) have been reliably applied “to the facts of the case.” Fed.R.Evid. 702. The U.S. Supreme Court established a two-part test to govern the admissibility of expert testimony under Rule 702 — the evidence is admitted if it “rests on a reliable foundation and is relevant.” Daubert, 509 U.S. at 597, 113 S.Ct. 2786. The proponent of expert testimony does not have the burden to “prove” anything to the court. Md. Cas. Co. v. Therm-O-Disc, Inc., 137 F.3d 780, 783 (4th Cir.1998). He or she must, however, “come forward with evidence from which the court can determine that the proffered testimony is properly admissible.” Id.

The district court is the gatekeeper.2 It is an important role: “[Ejxpert witnesses have the potential to be both powerful and quite misleading[;]” the court must “ensure that any and all scientific testimony ... is not only relevant, but reliable.” Cooper v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., 259 F.3d 194, 199 (4th Cir.2001) (citing Westberry v. Gislaved Gummi AB, 178 F.3d 257, 261 (4th Cir.1999) and

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Tyree v. Boston Scientific Corp., 54 F. Supp. 3d 501, 2014 WL 5486694, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155138 (S.D.W. Va. 2014).

54 F. Supp. 3d 501 (Tyree v. Boston Scientific Corp.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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