Prior to trial the defendants made several discovery requests. Defendants filed the first motion to compel when plaintiff failed to respond to a set of interrogatories and a request for the production of documents. The trial court granted such motion and ordered plaintiff to comply with defendants' discovery request within 30 days. While plaintiff did respond, defendants contend that the answers were incomplete and lacked verification. Thereafter, defendants filed a second motion to compel discovery and impose sanctions.
Defendants contend that plaintiff's responses remained incomplete.
On the first day of trial, newly discovered evidence revealed that plaintiff failed to disclose information that she had received treatment for a prior back injury resulting from an automobile accident. For this reason, defendants moved to exclude portions of plaintiff's case which they argued unfairly prejudiced them, which motion was denied. Plaintiff offered the videotaped testimony of Dr. Stephen Montgomery who opined that plaintiff suffered from degenerative disc disease which was caused by her fall at the warehouse. Dr. Montgomery based his opinion in large part on the absence of any prior related back injuries. At the conclusion of plaintiff's evidence, defendants made a motion for directed verdict.