Rita Thomas v. Publix Super Markets, Inc., No. 11-13816 (11th Cir. 2012)
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[DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FILED FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT U.S. COURT OF APPEALS ________________________ No. 11-13816 Non-Argument Calendar ________________________ ELEVENTH CIRCUIT MARCH 8, 2012 JOHN LEY CLERK D. C. Docket No. 1:09-cv-01933-SCJ RITA THOMAS, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus PUBLIX SUPER MARKETS, INC., Defendant-Appellee. ________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ________________________ (March 8, 2012) Before TJOFLAT, BARKETT and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: This is a personal injury case. Plaintiff Rita Jones was injured on a Sunday afternoon, March 15, 2009, while in the produce department of a Publix supermarket. While she was reaching for an onion she encountered an unidentified odor which caused respiratory irritation; she fell to her knees coughing and vomited. After the parties joined issue and engaged in discovery, Publix moved the district court to exclude the opinion testimony of Jones s expert witness under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L. Ed.2d 469 (1993), and for summary judgment. The court, in a comprehensive order dated July 21, 2011, granted both motions. Jones appeals the summary judgment and the court s order excluding her expert s opinion testimony. We find no abuse of discretion in the district court s exclusion of the expert s testimony and therefore affirm its ruling. And we find no error in the the district court s ruling that the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur is inapplicable in this case and in its decision granting Publix summary judgment. AFFIRMED. 2
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