ELIZABETH KIRBY, Individually v. National Crane Corporation, a Grove Worldwide Company

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 06-2104
ELIZABETH KIRBY, Individually and as Personal
Representative for the Estate of Damion Ashley
Heard, deceased, for the benefit of Damion
Harley Heard,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
and
PENNY BRADFORD; DAMION HARLEY HEARD,
Plaintiffs,
versus
NATIONAL CRANE CORPORATION, a Grove Worldwide
Company,
Defendant - Appellee,
and
HERTZ EQUIPMENT RENTAL, CORPORATION,
Defendant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Aiken. Margaret B. Seymour, District Judge.
(1:04-cv-21943-MBS)
Submitted: October 18, 2007 Decided: October 22, 2007
Before WILKINSON, NIEMEYER, and KING, Circuit Judges.

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Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
M. Shane Lucado, Birmingham, Alabama, Anthony S.H. Catone, POPE &
BOWENS, Blythewood, South Carolina, for Appellant. Timothy Lee
Orr, Robert W. Foster, Jr., NELSON, MULLINS, RILEY & SCARBOROUGH,
LLP, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Elizabeth Kirby, individually and as personal
representative for the Estate of Damion Ashley Heard, deceased, for
the benefit of Damion Harley Heard, appeals the district court’s
judgment entered pursuant to the jury’s verdict in favor of
Defendant National Crane Corporation (“National Crane”) on Kirby’s
civil action. Upon Heard’s untimely death as a result of being
struck by a crane manufactured by National Crane, Kirby brought
suit, asserting strict products liability and negligence claims.
After losing at trial, Kirby moved for a new trial. The district
court denied Kirby’s motion, and that denial forms another basis
for Kirby’s appeal.
We have reviewed the record and find no reversible error.
Kirby’s arguments on appeal stem from her contention that the
district court improperly permitted National Crane’s expert
toxicologist to present undisclosed expert testimony regarding the
source of methamphetamine discovered in Heard’s bloodstream. The
challenged testimony, however, had no bearing on the jury’s
findings that there was no defect in National Crane’s manufacture
of the crane and that National Crane had not been negligent.
Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s judgment. We also
affirm the denial of Kirby’s motion for a new trial for the reasons
stated by the district court. Kirby v. National Crane Corp., No.
1:04-cv-21943-MBS (D.S.C., Dec. 14, 2005 & Sept. 12, 2006). We

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dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions
are adequately presented in the materials before the court and
argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED

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