Court Opinion

ID: 9775085
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 18:43:12.013833+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:32:20.118853
License: Public Domain

MASSEY, Chief Justice.
In the instruments filed by the parties relating to the motion for rehearing of the appellant, it appears that the language of the opinion is susceptible of being misunderstood- at the first paragraph of the opinion relating to the question of the admissibility of the question asked appellant’s witness William H. House as to whether it was not a fact that the appellant Insurance Company was sued so much that it had to change its name. It is noted that at the point where the opinion reads “ * * * there would have at least been a lawful basis for the asking of the questions under the theory that House might have made a statement to the effect that Alamo Casualty Company’s name was changed because of the number of suits which had been filed against it, and upon basis of which his testimony could be impeached,” it would be reasonable to interpret the language as meaning that the witness might have testified in response to the question that such was the reason for the change of name. Such interpretation would not accord with the statement as to the law meant to be pronounced. The “statement” considered as the one the witness House “might have made,” was intended to mean such a statement as might have been made by him at a time prior to and other than at the time at which he was testifying. The part of the sentence in question will be clarified by changing it to read, “ * * * there would have at least been a lawful basis for the asking of the questions under the theory that at some prior occasion House might have made a statement to the effect that Alamo Casualty Company’s name was changed because of the number of suits which had been filed against it, and upon basis of which his testimony could be impeached.” Had the wit*218ness House upon some prior occasion to the occasion on which his testimony was being given during the trial made a statement to the effect that the Alamo Casualty Company did change its name because it was sued so much or so often that its opportunities for writing business under that name were suffering, certainly such prior statement could be shown to have been made by him by' the adverse party when, as had occurred in this case, he had testified without objection that the reason for the change in names was that of convenience of business operations. Under such a circumstance certainly the witness could be impeached, even though in the process of such impeachment his employer, for whom he was testifying, would suffer as necessarily incident to the subject matter (already in the case without objection by his employer, party defendant in the trial court) upon’ which the impeachment would occur. In the state of the record at time the events complained of occurred, it would be improper for any court to arbitrarily assume that the witness House had never at any prior time made any damaging statement regarding the Alamo Casualty Company, but for the purposes of supporting the question the court should consider that perhaps he had made such damaging statement and such was being shown on cross-examination.
Appellant’s motion for rehearing is overruled.