Case Title: Martin v. Benson

Citation: 348 N.C. 684

Docket Number: 119A97

State: north-carolina

Court: North Carolina Supreme Court

Date: 1998-07-09T00:00:00Z

Document:
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NORTH CAROLINA
No. 119A97
FILED: 9 JULY 1998
JANNETT J. MARTIN and RICHARD W. MARTIN
v.
JOHN MICHAEL BENSON and INDUSTRIAL ELECTRIC, INC.
Appeal by defendants pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 7A-30(2)
from the decision of a divided panel of the Court of Appeals, 125
N.C. App. 330, 481 S.E.2d 292 (1997), finding error in the trial
that resulted in a judgment for plaintiff Jannett Martin in the
amount of $50,000 entered 13 June 1995 by Albright, J., in
Superior Court, Guilford County, and ordering a new trial.  Heard
in the Supreme Court 16 October 1997.
Mary K. Nicholson and Joseph A. Williams for plaintiff-
appellees.
Frazier, Frazier & Mahler, L.L.P., by Torin L. Fury,
for defendant-appellants.
Tharrington Smith, L.L.P., by Michael Crowell, on
behalf of the American Psychological Association, the
North Carolina Psychological Association, and the
National Academy of Neuropsychology, amici curiae.
Bailey, Patterson, Caddell, Hart & Bailey, P.A., by
Allen A. Bailey, on behalf of the North Carolina
Academy of Trial Lawyers, amicus curiae.
PER CURIAM.
Defendants appeal a decision of the Court of Appeals
reversing the trial court in a personal injury case and awarding
a new trial to the plaintiffs based on the trial court’s decision
to allow a neuropsychologist to testify regarding the medical
-2-
causation of plaintiff Jannett Martin’s (herein plaintiff)
impairments.
On 28 November 1990, a truck driven by defendant John
Michael Benson and owned by defendant Industrial Electric, Inc.,
crossed the median and collided with an automobile driven by
plaintiff.  The parties entered into stipulations that
defendants’ negligence caused the collision and that the amount
of plaintiff’s medical bills was $100,041.22.
On 27 March 1995, two weeks before the trial began,
defendants moved to have plaintiff examined by Dr. Elizabeth
Gamboa, a neuropsychologist, for the purpose of updating
information on plaintiff’s condition.  The motion was allowed. 
Plaintiffs thereafter filed a motion in limine to exclude
Dr. Gamboa’s report and testimony.  The trial court denied the
motion and permitted Dr. Gamboa to testify.  At trial the parties
presented numerous expert and lay witnesses as to the proximate
causation of plaintiff’s injuries and plaintiff’s damages. 
Plaintiffs presented testimony from Dr. James U. Adelman, a
specialist in neurology, and from Dr. Gary Hoover, a
psychologist.  When Dr. Gamboa testified for defendant,
plaintiffs did not object to her testimony.  The jury found that
defendants’ negligence was the proximate cause of plaintiff’s
injuries and awarded her $50,000 in damages.
On appeal to the Court of Appeals, plaintiffs contended
that the trial court erred in denying plaintiffs’ motion in
limine and allowing Dr. Gamboa to testify.  The Court of Appeals
agreed.
-3-
The rule is that “[a] motion in limine is insufficient
to preserve for appeal the question of the admissibility of
evidence if the [movant] fails to further object to that evidence
at the time it is offered at trial.”  State v. Conaway, 339 N.C.
487, 521, 453 S.E.2d 824, 845-46, cert. denied, 516 U.S. 884, 133
L. Ed. 2d 153 (1995); see also State v. Warren, 347 N.C. 309,
318, 492 S.E.2d 609, 613 (1997), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, ___
L. Ed. 2d ___, 66 U.S.L.W. 3719 (1998); State v. Hill, 347 N.C.
275, 293, 493 S.E.2d 264, 274 (1997), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___,
___ L. Ed. 2d ___, 66 U.S.L.W. 3758 (1998); State v. Wilson, 289
N.C. 531, 537, 223 S.E.2d 311, 315 (1976); T&T Dev. Co. v.
Southern Nat’l Bank of S.C., 125 N.C. App. 600, 602, 481 S.E.2d
347, 348-49, disc. rev. denied, 346 N.C. 185, 486 S.E.2d 219
(1997).  Thus, by failing to object at trial, plaintiffs have
waived their right to appellate review of the admission of Dr.
Gamboa’s testimony.
Accordingly, we reverse the opinion below and remand to
the Court of Appeals for consideration of plaintiffs’ remaining
assignment of error.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.