Opinion ID: 2332538
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Wal-Mart's Representations to the Jury

Text: [¶ 11] Wal-Mart argues that the court erred in granting Walter's motion for judgment as a matter of law because it should have submitted the issues of negligence, proximate cause, and comparative negligence to the jury. Walter contends that Wal-Mart judicially admitted liability in its opening statement to the jury. The clear import of Wal-Mart's opening statement was that liability was not an issue, and the only question that the jury would have to decide was the amount of damages. [1] [¶ 12] Statements made by counsel during an opening statement or closing argument can result in a judicial admission. See Kohne v. Yost, 250 Mont. 109, 818 P.2d 360, 362 (1991). In order to be considered a judicial admission the statements must be deliberate, clear, and unambiguous. See MacDonald v. General Motors Corp., 110 F.3d 337, 340 (6th Cir. 1997). When made in an opening statement, the alleged judicial admission must be considered in the context of the entire statement. See Lowe v. Kang, 167 Ill. App.3d 772, 118 Ill.Dec. 552, 521 N.E.2d 1245, 1247 (1988). The statement must be unequivocal and pertain to a factual matter. See Larson v. A.T.S.I., 859 P.2d 273, 276 (Colo.App.1993). [¶ 13] Wal-Mart's opening statement admitted the error made by its pharmacist in filling the prescription but because negligence consists of both law (whether a duty exists and what that duty is) and facts (whether the duty was breached), there was no judicial admission of negligence. Furthermore, the statement taken in its entire context, does not contain an unequivocal admission that the mistake in filling the prescription caused Walter's harm. While Wal-Mart appears to concede that there was no fault on the part of Walter, the mention of the delay in obtaining the blood test renders the concession ambiguous. For these reasons, we cannot conclude that there was a judicial admission that Wal-Mart was liable for Walter's damages.