Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137, 7 (1999)
Cite as: 526 U. S. 137 (1999)
Opinion of the Court
tire. See M. Mavrigian, Performance Wheels & Tires 81, 83 (1998) (illustrations).
A. Markovich, How To Buy and Care For Tires 4 (1994).
Carlson's testimony also accepted certain background facts about the tire in question. He assumed that before the blowout the tire had traveled far. (The tire was made in 1988 and had been installed some time before the Carmichaels bought the used minivan in March 1993; the Carmichaels had driven the van approximately 7,000 additional miles in the two months they had owned it.) Carlson noted that the tire's tread depth, which was 11/32 of an inch when new, App. 242, had been worn down to depths that ranged from 3/32 of an inch along some parts of the tire, to nothing at all along others. Id., at 287. He conceded that the tire tread had at least two punctures which had been inadequately repaired. Id., at 258-261, 322.
Despite the tire's age and history, Carlson concluded that a defect in its manufacture or design caused the blowout. He rested this conclusion in part upon three premises which,
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