Investigator’s Methods Sufficiently Reliable To Finger Whirlpool Fridge as Fire Starter

A fire investigator’s testimony that a family’s refrigerator started the fire that destroyed their home was properly admitted by the district court over the protests of appliance manufacturer Whirlpool Corp., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held Dec. 17 (Russell v. Whirlpool Corp., 8th Cir., No. 12-1451).

The testimony offered by the investigator met the threshold of reliability required under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993), Judge Kermit E. Bye explained, writing for the court.

The investigator did more than merely “eyeball” kitchen appliances located in the debris, as Whirlpool ...