Hillman v. The Toro Co.

Plaintiffs filed a personal injury lawsuit against defendant alleging that the defendant’s lawn mower design was defective. The district court excluded all of plaintiff’s expert evidence by finding it was either unreliable or not relevant and then granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant. On appeal, the Seventh Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part, finding that one expert’s testimony regarding independent brakes was reliable and relevant and that this testimony raised a genuine issue of material fact on plaintiff’s independent brake theory of product liability. (EASTERBROOK and MALDONADO, concurring)