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Hiscott v. Peters8/16/2001
UNPUBLISHED
Defendants Ronald Weidner (Ronald Weidner or Mr. Weidner) and Ronald Weidner, Inc. (collectively Weidner), appeal from the judgment in favor of plaintiffs, George and June Hiscott, following a jury trial. It is the contention of Weidner that (1) the trial court erred in admitting the opinion testimony of a reconstruction expert; (2) the trial court erred in excluding circumstantial evidence that defendant Ross Peters was using his cellular telephone immediately prior to the accident; (3) the trial court erred in submitting itemized verdict forms allowing the jury to return separate damages for emotional distress; (4) the trial court erred in permitting the Hiscotts to amend their pleadings after judgment; (5) the jury's allocation of fault between the defendants was against the manifest weight of the evidence; and (6) the jury's award for future pain and suffering to June Hiscott was against the manifest weight of the evidence.
I. FACTS
The Hiscotts originally filed this action for personal injury in the circuit court of Cook County on June 17, 1998. On August 5, 1998, the case was transferred to Lake County. Peters also filed an action against Weidner seeking to recover for his own bodily injuries; that case was consolidated with this action but voluntarily dismissed shortly before trial.
On November 19, 1998, the Hiscotts filed their first amended complaint. Counts I and II alleged negligence against Weidner. Counts III and IV alleged negligence against Peters. The Hiscotts sought damages for their injuries, including emotional trauma.
Peters and Weidner filed contribution counterclaims against each other. Prior to trial, the trial court partially granted Weidner's motion in limine requesting the trial court to bar portions of the accident reconstruction opinion testimony of Robert Seyfried. The trial court barred any opinion testimony from Seyfried regarding the path of travel of Peters's vehicle and whether his vehicle went into a "yaw" or side-slip without a sufficient foundation. The trial court reserved its ruling on part of Peters's motion in limine as to the use of his cellular telephone at the time of the accident.
Trial began on March 20, 2000. Ronald Weidner testified as an adverse witness. On June 17, 1997, at approximately 1:20 p.m., Mr. Weidner was driving a red Dodge pickup truck northwest on Route 60/83. He had perceived a problem with the braking of the truck from the time he purchased it eight months earlier. According to Mr. Weidner, when he would slam on the brakes the vehicle pulled left or right. He took the vehicle to be repaired six or seven times, but he still thought there was a problem with the braking.
According to Mr. Weidner, the weather was clear and the roads were dry on the day of the accident, although the roads were "oily" from all the traffic. He was traveling northwest on Route 60/83, following a white Cadillac. The Cadillac was approximately 60 feet in front of him. The Cadillac then turned to the right, partially onto the shoulder, and braked, simultaneously. At that time, Mr. Weidner saw a large white van stopped in the northwest lane of travel. He saw a Lincoln about 220 feet ahead of him in the opposite lane of travel. When he realized that he was going to hit the van, Mr. Weidner decided to hit the rear left side of the van with the front passenger side of his truck. When he hit the brakes, his truck started to skid forward to the left. The impact pushed the front end of his truck about 12 to 18 inches over the center line. Mr. Weidner testified that a skid mark left by his truck showed it curling into the opposite lane of travel.
According to Mr. Weidne
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