Lopez v. Reddy3/30/2005
elated to the validity and reliability of scientific testimony. Daubert, 509 U.S. at 594-95. The New Mexico Supreme Court immediately adopted a similar approach in Alberico. 116 N.M. at 158, 166-68, 861 P.2d at 194, 202-04. Alberico clarified that Rule 11-702 establishes three prerequisites for admission of expert testimony: (1) the expert must be qualified, (2) the scientific evidence must assist the trier of fact, and (3) the expert may only testify to "scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge." Id. at 166, 861 P.2d at 202 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). In Alberico, the experts' qualifications were not at issue; therefore, Alberico only addressed the second and third elements of Rule 11-702, dealing with scientific evidence. Alberico, 116 N.M. at 166, 861 P.2d at 202. The Alberico case established "evidentiary reliability as the hallmark for the admissibility of scientific knowledge," and outlined factors to consider when evaluating such testimony. State v. Torres, 1999-NMSC-010, 24-26, 29, 127 N.M. 20, 976 P.2d 20.
{12} Subsequently, a number of New Mexico cases have addressed the application of the Alberico standard when the reliability of scientific methods was at issue. See, e.g., State v. Stills, 1998-NMSC-009, 24-27, 125 N.M. 66, 957 P.2d 51 (explaining the third element for a specific method of DNA analysis); State v. Anderson, 118 N.M. 284, 291-92, 296-301, 881 P.2d 29, 36-37, 41-46 (1994) (addressing the second and third elements as related to DNA evidence). The reliability of scientific methods, however, was not at issue in this case. Here, the question before the trial court was whether Dr. Singer was qualified to testify on the given subject matter. Alberico does not address this element of Rule 11-702; accordingly, whether the trial court erred in applying Alberico evidentiary standards to this medical negligence case is not an issue that is necessary for this Court to reach in rendering a decision. Additionally, while Defendant argued below and on appeal that the Alberico standard for admissibility of expert testimony applies to Dr. Singer's testimony, there is no evidence in the record that the trial court utilized the Alberico standard in reaching the decision. In fact, as discussed in the following section and contrary to Plaintiffs' argument, it would have been unnecessary for the trial court to apply Alberico in order to reach a decision that Dr. Singer was not qualified to testify on the standard of care in this case.
{13} In a related argument, Plaintiffs urge this Court to extend the reasoning in Banks and Fuyat as a bar to the application of Daubert and Alberico in this case. Banks v. IMC Kalium Carlsbad Potash Co., 2003-NMSC-026, 1, 134 N.M. 421, 77 P.3d 1014 (holding that "Daubert/Alberico does not apply to the testimony of a health care provider" under the Workers' Compensation Act); Fuyat v. Los Alamos Nat'l Lab., 112 N.M. 102, 105-06, 811 P.2d 1313, 1316-17 (Ct. App. 1991) (rejecting the argument that in a workers' compensation case, physicians' testimony was required to demonstrate general acceptance of the scientific techniques employed). As we have stated, Alberico is inapplicable to the issue at hand. Additionally, Banks and Fuyat are workers' compensation cases, in which the use of experts is subject to particular statutory standards; therefore, we decline to rely on these cases, as their holdings are limited to a different type of case from the one before us. Banks, 2003-NMSC-026, 1; Fuyat, 112 N.M. at 104-05, 811 P.2d at 1315-16.
B. Exclusion of Dr. Singer's Testimony
{14} It is widely recognized that Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and its New Mexico analogue, Rule 11-702, impose a "gate-keeping" f
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