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Dover Elevator Co. v. Swann3/25/1994
ictest sense, res ipsa loquitur is limited to those instances where, certain criteria having been met, the trier of fact may draw an inference of negligence from the facts alone."
318 Md. at 431, 569 A.2d at 208. The Orkin Court concluded the following with respect to cases where such expert testimony is required:
"Resolution of the issues of negligence and causation involved in a case of this kind necessarily requires knowledge of complicated matters.... Complex issues of the type generated by a case of this kind should not be resolved by laymen without expert assistance. Res ipsa loquitur does not apply under these circumstances."
318 Md. at 433, 569 A.2d at 209 (citing Meda, 318 Md. at 428, 569 A.2d at 206-07).
At trial in the instant case, the plaintiff's own expert witness acknowledged that elevators may experience problems absent anyone's negligence. During redirect examination, Moynihan testified that "there are different things that can cause different problems. You might have a heat condition in an elevator machine room" or, "at times you will blow a fuse," which also may result in problems with the elevator. Without Moynihan's opinion that the misleveling was caused by negligence, an inference that this elevator did not mislevel or experience other problems absent someone's negligence may be unjustified. This is not simply a case of a barrel falling from the defendant's window onto some hapless pedestrian's head. As a result, the application of res ipsa loquitur was not appropriate.
Thus, in light of the testimony offered in this case, we believe the Court of Special Appeals erred in reversing the trial judge's conclusion that the jury could not rely on res ipsa loquitur. This case involved the complicated inner workings of elevator number two's machinery which were outside the scope of the average layperson's common understanding and knowledge, and expert testimony was a necessary element of the plaintiff's case. Since expert testimony was necessary to this case, Swann could not rely on res ipsa loquitur and was required to prove it was more probable than not that this accident was the result of negligence.
III. Jury Instructions
The Court of Special Appeals asserted that a party is entitled to have its theory of the case presented to the jury if two conditions are present: (i) the instruction correctly states the law; and (ii) the law is applicable to the evidence before the jury. Swann, 95 Md. App. at 388, 620 A.2d at 1000 (citing Sergeant Co. v. Pickett, 285 Md. 186, 194, 401 A.2d 651, 655 (1979)). Since the intermediate appellate court found the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur applicable to the evidence offered in the instant action, it concluded that the trial judge committed reversible error by failing to properly instruct the jury regarding the doctrine. Swann, 95 Md. App. at 409-10, 620 A.2d at 1011. In light of the Court of Special Appeals' decision, we feel some discussion of the res ipsa loquitur jury instruction is warranted although we shall reserve for another day the issue of whether a trial judge may refuse to give such an instruction in a case where res ipsa loquitur may be applicable.
Swann cites no decision of this Court that holds it is error for a trial judge to refuse to give a res ipsa loquitur instruction. We recognize, however, that various other jurisdictions consider it reversible error for a trial judge to refuse to give a res ip
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