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By stan_sipple

Manufacturer of "Little Tikes" playground equipment Newell Rubbermaid, Inc sued its lighting contractor for causing a fire at its Farmington Missouri plant when high-pressure sodium lights failed and ignited material in the warehouse. St Francois County Circuit Court jury awarded Newell $29million. Electrical contractor Efficient Solutions, Inc. appeals. Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District affirms. Newell could impeach the defendant's witness who was Plaintiff's former employee it had dismissed with details of his sexual harassment. Newell further could introduce expert testimony that the parties service contract required the defendant to install safety chains on its lights. Newell Rubbermaid, Inc., Respondent, v. Efficient Solutions, Inc., Appellant: ED89253

"the evidence (of the reasons for witness's dismissal)was relevant to establish former employee's bias. He was one of only two witnesses who testified that the light in question was still burning at the time of the accident and therefore, his credibility was highly relevant to the jury in determining the cause of the fire. Newell Rubbermaid neither impermissibly exceeded the scope of cross-examination by introducing the evidence nor gave it undue emphasis."
The court of appeals also allowed the plaintiff's expert to testify as to the defendant's contractual obligation to provide certain safety devices because, "the expert based his opinion upon industry standards, the conditions of the factory and applicable industry codes, rather than the contract itself, unlike the expert testimony the appeals court disapproved in Union Electric Co. v. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, No. ED88123, (Mo.App.E.D. May 9, 2007) that sought to interpret a specific contract."

Full post as published by Showmeblawgs on January 01, 2008 (boomark / email).