Soulliere v. Suzuki Motor Corp. CA4/3

── Soulliere v. Suzuki Motor Corp. CA4/3 ── Court: California Court of Appeal Date: April 17, 2026 Category: General Filed 4/17/26 Soulliere v. Suzuki Motor Corp. CA4/3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION THREE THOMAS JOSEPH SOULLIERE, G063118 Plaintiff and Appellant, (Super. Ct. No. 30-2015- 00790644) v. ORDER MODIFYING SUZUKI MOTOR CORPORATION, OPINION AND DENYING REHEARING Defendant and Appellant. [NO CHANGE IN JUDGMENT] It is ordered that the opinion filed March 18, 2026, be modified as follows. On page 21, the second sentence, beginning with “The matter is remanded,” is substituted with the following: “The matter is remanded with instructions to set the matter for a new trial on liability (including causation) and damages but excluding punitive damages.”  The petition for rehearing is DENIED. SCOTT, J. WE CONCUR: MOORE, ACTING P. J. DELANEY, J. 2 Filed 3/18/26 Soulliere v. Suzuki Motor Corp. CA4/3 (unmodified opinion) NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION THREE THOMAS JOSEPH SOULLIERE, Plaintiff and Appellant, G063118 v. (Super. Ct. No. 30-2015- 00790644) SUZUKI MOTOR CORPORATION, OPINION Defendant and Appellant. Appeals from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Glenn R. Salter, Judge. Reversed and remanded with instructions. Motion to augment, request for judicial notice, and motion to strike denied. Singleton Schreiber, Benjamin I. Siminou; The Simon Law Group, Robert T. Simon and Travis Davis for Plaintiff and Appellant. Horvitz & Levy, Lisa Perrochet, John A. Taylor, Jr., Curt Cutting; Bowman and Brooke, Jordan S. Tabak; Frost Brown Todd, Randall R. Riggs, Jeffrey J. Mortier; Butler Snow and Kathleen Ingram Carrington for Defendant and Appellant.  Defendant Suzuki Motor Corporation appeals from a $41 million judgment entered after a jury found a front brake master cylinder defect caused plaintiff Thomas Joseph Soulliere’s motorcycle accident. Suzuki raises four basic claims. First, it contends there was insufficient evidence of causation, most notably because Soulliere’s expert testimony was inadmissible. Second, it contends the trial court wrongly excluded a police officer’s testimony, based on his accident report, about his conversation with Soulliere. Third, Suzuki maintains that the court