Opinion ID: 1737236
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Trial Court's Denial Of Wallace's Motion For A Continuance

Text: During the trial of this matter, Wallace requested a continuance due to the unavailability of his expert witness, Dr. Robert DeWoody. It is a well-settled rule in Alabama that continuances of trial settings rest within the broad discretion of the trial court. Mitchell v. Moore, 406 So.2d 347 (Ala.1981); Selby v. Money, 403 So.2d 218 (Ala.1981). For a continuance to be warranted by the absence of a witness, a party must establish, inter alia, that he or she exercised due diligence to secure the absent witness, and that the expected testimony would be more than merely cumulative. We find, after a review of the record, that DeWoody had previously testified for Wallace in the two prior trials of this case. Wallace did not present any evidence that DeWoody's testimony would be different at this trial. The trial court determined that this situation was appropriate for the use of Rule 32(a)(3)(B), A.R.Civ.P., which would have allowed the introduction of deposition testimony. We cannot hold, as a matter of law, that the trial court was in error in refusing to grant Wallace's motion for a continuance.