Opinion ID: 2431316
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Defendant Dulaney was Improperly Impeached

Text: The cross-claim was improperly used in the present case to impeach defendant Dulaney both because it was an inconsistent pleading against joint parties and because it consisted of disjunctive specifications of negligence and legal conclusions alleging negligence and causation. Since plaintiff's and defendant Dulaney's respective versions of the events were in direct contradiction to each other and because they were the only witnesses to the accident, each such witness's credibility and believability was pivotal in the outcome of the case. Under these circumstances, this error in the impeachment of defendant Dulaney was prejudicial. The judgment is reversed and the cause is remanded for a new trial. ROBERTSON, C.J., COVINGTON, HOLSTEIN and BENTON, JJ., and SMART and KENNEDY, Special Judges, concur. THOMAS, J., concurs in part and concurs in result in part in separate opinion filed. PRICE and LIMBAUGH, JJ., not sitting because not members of the Court when case was submitted. THOMAS, Judge, concurring in part and concurring in result in part.