Filed: Dec. 14, 1999
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT No. 99-30103 RICHARD WILLIAMS; SADIE MAE WILLIAMS, Plaintiffs-Appellants, and WILLAMETTE INDUSTRIES, INC., Intervenor-Plaintiff-Appellant, versus VALMET, INC., Defendant-Intervenor-Defendant-Appellee, and VALMET CANADA, INC.; SOUTHERN INDUSTRIAL, INC., Defendants-Appellees. - - - - - - - - - - Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (96-CV-1815) - - - - - - - - - - December 10, 1999 Before WIEN
Summary: IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT No. 99-30103 RICHARD WILLIAMS; SADIE MAE WILLIAMS, Plaintiffs-Appellants, and WILLAMETTE INDUSTRIES, INC., Intervenor-Plaintiff-Appellant, versus VALMET, INC., Defendant-Intervenor-Defendant-Appellee, and VALMET CANADA, INC.; SOUTHERN INDUSTRIAL, INC., Defendants-Appellees. - - - - - - - - - - Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (96-CV-1815) - - - - - - - - - - December 10, 1999 Before WIENE..
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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 99-30103
RICHARD WILLIAMS; SADIE MAE WILLIAMS,
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
and
WILLAMETTE INDUSTRIES, INC.,
Intervenor-Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
VALMET, INC.,
Defendant-Intervenor-Defendant-Appellee,
and
VALMET CANADA, INC.; SOUTHERN INDUSTRIAL,
INC.,
Defendants-Appellees.
- - - - - - - - - -
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Louisiana
(96-CV-1815)
- - - - - - - - - -
December 10, 1999
Before WIENER and STEWART, Circuit Judges, and SHAW, District
Judge.*
PER CURIAM**
In this personal injury case implicating the Louisiana
Products Liability Act,1 Plaintiffs and Intervenor-Plaintiff
*
District Judge of the Western District of Louisiana,
sitting by designation.
**
Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the court has determined
that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent
except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R.
47.5.4.
1
La. Rev. Stat. § 9:2800.51 et. seq. (1997)(“LPLA”).
contest the district court’s “gatekeeper” ruling under Daubert2
prohibiting Plaintiffs’ expert witness from giving professional
opinion testimony regarding design defects of, inter alia, hand
railings and guard devices. Those parties also appeal that court’s
evidentiary rulings on various exhibits and depositions regarding
composition and construction of the portion of the facility where
Plaintiff Richard Williams was injured. We review all contested
evidentiary and testimony rulings in this case for abuse of
discretion by the district court.
We have now conducted such a review of the record in this case
and the briefs of able counsel, and have heard the arguments of
counsel in open court; and, after applying the pertinent law to the
facts and the proceedings in the district court, we are convinced
that there was no abuse of discretion in any of the contested
rulings. We are equally convinced that the judgments of the
district court, dismissing the Plaintiffs’ and Intervenor-
Plaintiff’s claims under the LPLA for design defects and for
composition or construction defects, as well as their negligence
claims against Southern Industrial, Inc., were correct and
therefore should be and hereby are
AFFIRMED.
2
Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,
509 U.S.
579 (1993).
2