[Download] "Tuttle v. Fruehauf Corp." by Illinois Appellate Court — First District (3Rd Division) Judgment Affirmed # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Tuttle v. Fruehauf Corp.
- Author : Illinois Appellate Court — First District (3Rd Division) Judgment Affirmed
- Release Date : January 21, 1984
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 66 KB
Description
Plaintiff, Donald Tuttle, sought damages for personal injuries which occurred on July 11, 1974, when he lost control of the tractor-trailer truck that he was driving, and the vehicle went off the road and collided with a fixed object. Judgment was entered on a jury verdict in favor of defendant, Fruehauf Division of Fruehauf Corporation, the company that had repaired the trailer approximately two months before the accident. Plaintiff appeals the judgment in favor of defendant and the denial of his post-trial motion on the grounds that (1) he was entitled to a new trial on the basis of newly discovered evidence which met the exaggerated and false testimony of one of defendant's expert witnesses, (2) the court erred in allowing testimony by one of defendant's witnesses that was beyond the scope of the witness' expertise, (3) the court abused its discretion in preventing him from referring to admissions in defendant's third-party complaint, (4) the court erred in refusing his tendered Illinois Pattern Jury Instruction regarding a party's failure to produce physical evidence in its control, and (5) the court erred in not granting his motions for a mistrial and in not giving cautionary instructions when defendant attempted to have a police report admitted into evidence and attempted to elicit testimony regarding an unrelated injury to plaintiff. We affirm. The evidence at trial revealed that in May 1974, approximately two months before plaintiff's accident, defendant installed riser blocks on the trailer plaintiff was operating at the time of the accident. Two mechanics employed by defendant in 1974 testified that they did not remember doing the installation on this particular trailer, but that they installed riser blocks in accordance with the instructions of their foreman, John Jarosz. Their instructions were to tighten the u-bolts with an air wrench, then hit the u-bolts with a hammer and listen for a bell-like sound which indicates that the bolts are tight enough. Neither mechanic had seen any written specifications or instructions for installing riser blocks.