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Graber v. City Of Ankeny9/7/2000
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, George W. Bergeson, Judge.
Plaintiff appeals adverse jury verdict claiming error in the admission of evidence that she had settled with a released party.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
Considered en banc.
The appellant, Judith Graber, was injured in an automobile accident that occurred at an intersection located within the city limits of the appellee, City of Ankeny. She brought an action against the City, which resulted in an adverse jury verdict. In her appeal, she makes several claims: (1) the court abused its discretion in admitting evidence of her settlement with the other party involved in the accident; (2) the court erroneously instructed the jury on several issues; (3) Iowa Code chapter 668 (1997) violates her rights to due process and equal protection; (4) the court erred in failing to grant the plaintiff's motion for new trial; (5) the court erred in failing to sustain her objections to the defendant's questioning of her expert witness; and (6) the court erred in allowing the defendant's witness to give expert testimony when he had not been designated as an expert witness. We conclude that the court's admission of evidence of the plaintiff's settlement with a released party constitutes reversible error. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for a new trial.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings.
On the morning of July 13, 1996, the plaintiff was traveling north on State Street, south of Ankeny, Iowa, approaching the intersection of State Street and Oralabor Road, another main thoroughfare bordering the City to the south and running east and west. The speed limit on this section of Oralabor was 55 miles per hour.
The plaintiff entered the intersection of State Street and Oralabor on the green light, intending to turn left. As she did so, she was struck broadside by Kristie Allen. Allen was traveling east on Oralabor and admitted she entered the intersection on a red light. The plaintiff sustained extensive and serious injuries.
Initially, the plaintiff brought suit against Allen and against Allen's boyfriend, Brook Hansen, who owned the car Allen was driving at the time of the accident. Allen and Hansen sought leave to file a cross-petition against the City, who, they asserted, was negligent in its operation of the traffic control signals at the intersection. Subsequently, the plaintiff amended her petition to add the City as a defendant. She alleged the City was negligent in failing to properly maintain and properly set the timing of the traffic lights at the intersection. The plaintiff asserted that the City's improper timing of the traffic signals confused drivers because they were not allowed sufficient time to clear the intersection before cross-traffic received a green light.
Sometime after the City was joined as a defendant, the plaintiff settled with Allen and Hansen. In a pre-trial ruling, the court held that the City could introduce evidence of the settlement, but not the amount paid by Allen and Hansen. The case proceeded to trial, and the jury returned a verdict in favor of the City, finding it was not at fault. The plaintiff's post-trial motions were overruled and she filed this appeal.
II. Did the Trial Court Err in Admitting Evidence of the Settlement Between the Plaintiff and the Released Parties?
During cross-examination of Allen, the defendant elicited testimony that Allen and Hansen had been dismissed from the lawsuit "because some deal had been cut and money paid on [their] behalf." The plaintiff's objection on the basis of lack of relevancy was overruled.
A. General principles and
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