Utah follows a modified Daubert standard. See Taylor v. University of Utah, 466 P.3d 124 (Utah 2020). “Utah Rule of Evidence 702 ‘assigns to trial judges a gatekeeper’ responsibility to screen out unreliable expert testimony.’” Id. at ¶16 (quoting Utah R. Evid. 702 advisory committee notes). The expert must be qualified. Utah R. Evid. 702(a). The proffering party must “make a ‘threshold showing that the principles or methods that are underlying in the testimony’ are ‘reliable,’ ‘based upon sufficient facts or data,’ and ‘have been reliably applied to the facts.’” Taylor at ¶ 16 (quoting Utah R. Evid. Rule 702 (b)). The proffering party has met the required “‘threshold showing’ if the ‘underlying principles or methods, including the sufficiency of facts or data and the manner of their application to the facts of the case, are generally accepted by the relevant expert community.”’” Id. (citing Utah R. Evid. Rule 702(c)).

Utah’s Rule 702 differs from its current federal counterpart in that it only requires a “threshold showing” – “abasic foundational showing of indicia or reliability for the testimony to be admissible, not that the opinion is indisputably correct.” Utah R. Evid. 702 advisory committee’s note; see also Gunn Hill Dairy Props., LLC, 269 P.3d 980, ¶ 33 (Utah App. 2012).