United Phosphorus, Ltd. v. Midland Fumigant, Inc.

173 F.R.D. 675, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9807, 1997 WL 378999
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedJune 13, 1997
DocketCivil Actions Nos. 91-2133-EEO, 95-2267-EEO
StatusPublished

This text of 173 F.R.D. 675 (United Phosphorus, Ltd. v. Midland Fumigant, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United Phosphorus, Ltd. v. Midland Fumigant, Inc., 173 F.R.D. 675, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9807, 1997 WL 378999 (D. Kan. 1997).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

EARL E. O’CONNOR, Senior District Judge.

This matter is before the court on the following motions:

Plaintiffs’ Motion in Limine to Preclude New Testimony and Related Exhibits at the Daubert Hearing on Hoyt (Doc. # 256);
Plaintiffs’ Motion in Limine to Exclude Dr. Richard Hoyt’s Testimony and Expert Report (Doc. # 218); and
Plaintiffs’ Motion in Limine to Exclude the Testimony of Defendants’ Expert Herbert S. Harrison at Trial (Doc. # 219).

For the reasons stated below, the motions are granted.

I. Plaintiffs’ Motion in Limine to Preclude New Testimony and Related Exhibits at the Daubert Hearing on Hoyt (Doc. # 256).

Plaintiffs move, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(c)(1), for an order precluding defendants from offering testimony of Dr. Richard C. Hoyt beyond that contained in his expert report filed pursuant to Rule 26(a)(2)(B). In addition, plaintiffs move to preclude the defendants’ use of any exhibits in addition to those attached to Dr. Hoyt’s expert report, and to preclude reference to articles or other documentation not stated in Dr. Hoyt’s report. At the Daubert hearing held on March 4, 1997, the court provisionally admitted defendants’ Exhibits 400, 401, 402, 404, and 415, subject to plaintiffs’ objection. The court stated that it would be in a better position to make an intelligent ruling after the close of the hearing.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(c)(1) provides, in pertinent part:

A party that without substantial justification fails to disclose information required by Rule 26(a) or 26(e)(1) shall not, unless such failure is harmless, be permitted to use as evidence at a trial, at a hearing, or on a motion any witness or information not so disclosed.

Plaintiffs represent in their motion in limine that they were not provided with a copy of these additional exhibits until the exhibit marking session, less than one week before the Daubert hearing. Defendants do not dispute this factual contention, and have provided the court with no substantial justification for their belated attempt to admit these five additional exhibits.

Rule 26(a)(2)(B) requires the expert report to contain, inter alia, the “information considered by the witness in forming the opinions [and] any exhibits to be used as a summary of or support for the opinions ----” Defendants have never supplemented or modified Dr. Hoyt’s report, as specifically prescribed under Rule 26(e)(1). Plaintiffs assert that these new exhibits prejudice them because the exhibits attempt to recast and restate Hoyt’s opinion, which, if admitted at the Daubert hearing, would defeat the purpose of the disclosure requirements and would encourage “sandbagging.”

The court, now aided with the full perspective and context of the hearing, agrees. The court finds that defendants have failed to comport with the requirements of Rule 26(e)(1), and have failed to demonstrate substantial justification under Rule 37(c)(1). Accordingly, plaintiffs’ motion in limine is granted. The court will evaluate the Daubert inquiry on the basis of Hoyt’s expert report as originally filed, and will consider only those exhibits attached thereto, [678]*678and Dr. Hoyt’s testimony bearing thereon.1 See Nortex Drug Distributors, Inc. v. Drug Emporium, Inc., No. C-2-93-767, slip op. at 3-7 (S.D.Ohio 1997) (affirming magistrate judge’s order excluding from trial Dr. Hoyt’s amended report, and precluding Hoyt from testifying on matters not contained in his initial report, on grounds of untimeliness and prejudice to other party).

II. Plaintiffs’ Motion in Limine to Exclude Dr. Richard Hoyt’s Testimony and Expert Report (Doc. # 218).

Plaintiffs United Phosphorus, Ltd., and In-venta Corporation have moved, pursuant to Federal Rules of Evidence 104(a), 403, 702, and pursuant to the holding in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993), to preclude defendants’ use at trial of the testimony and expert witness report of defendants’ economic expert, Dr. Richard Hoyt. On March 4, 1997, the court held a Daubert hearing and heard the testimony of both Dr. Hoyt and plaintiffs’ rebuttal witness, Dr. John J. Siegfried. The court has thoroughly reviewed the transcript of the hearing, the evidence and exhibits presented, and the expert reports of both Dr. Hoyt and Dr. Siegfried. The court finds that plaintiffs’ motion should be sustained for the reasons stated below.

A. Factual Background.

The following facts were adduced at the hearing, and are essentially undisputed for purposes of this motion:

Aluminum phosphide is a fumigant, used for the control of insects in grain products and warehouses. It is sold in pellet and tablet form. Midland Fumigant, Inc. (“Midland”) is a Kansas corporation, formed in 1987. At the hearing, plaintiffs’ counsel read into the record certain portions of the deposition testimony of Don Fox, the president of Midland. Fox testified that he bought aluminum phosphide from Excel Industries (“Excel”) in India, but that defendants “wanted to change the name to another name because of a bad connotation of poor quality product that the Indians produced.” Fox testified that aluminum phosphide marketed under Excel’s “L-Fume” label was “horrible stuff.”

At the hearing, plaintiffs also presented excerpts from the depositions of Hugh Lynn, Midland’s former national sales manager, and Charles Estes, Midland’s current national sales manager. Hugh Lynn testified that L-Fume had the reputation that it was a poor quality product and could be dangerous. Lynn explained that the reason defendants wanted to relabel the L-Fume as Quick-Phos was because “the L-Fume label met an awful lot of resistance in the marketplace ... [bjecause of the ... past history of poor quality product.” Lynn confirmed that Midland wanted to overcome that resistance to the L-Fume label by using the Quick-Phos label, which did not meet resistance in the marketplace.

According to Charles Estes’ deposition testimony, both he and Don Fox were aware that Midland was relabeling Excel’s L-Fume product as* Quick-Phos, and selling it to customers as Quick-Phos. Estes also testified that the L-Fume product had a dust and flashing problem2 that hurt the market price for L-Fume, and that the L-Fume product had the worst dust and flashing problem in the industry in 1989. Estes further stated that Midland would not have relabeled over 2000 cases of L-Fume as Quick-Phos unless the value to Midland of relabeling the product exceeded the cost of relabeling.

In May of 1988, Midland ordered a container load of genuine Quick-Phos from United Phosphorus on consignment at $252 per [679]*679case. Midland subsequently purchased and resold less than one-half of the Quick-Phos in a series of transactions in the summer and fall of 1988.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
509 U.S. 579 (Supreme Court, 1993)
In Re Paoli Railroad Yard PCB Litigation
35 F.3d 717 (Third Circuit, 1994)
Schmaltz v. Norfolk & Western Railway Co.
878 F. Supp. 1119 (N.D. Illinois, 1995)
Rutigliano v. Valley Business Forms
929 F. Supp. 779 (D. New Jersey, 1996)
Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
43 F.3d 1311 (Ninth Circuit, 1995)
Kachina Plywood, Inc. v. Hurt
115 S. Ct. 1253 (Supreme Court, 1995)
Frase v. Henry
444 F.2d 1228 (Tenth Circuit, 1971)
Marx & Co. v. Diners' Club, Inc.
550 F.2d 505 (Second Circuit, 1977)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
173 F.R.D. 675, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9807, 1997 WL 378999, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-phosphorus-ltd-v-midland-fumigant-inc-ksd-1997.