Court Opinion

ID: 9585258
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:58:21.744435+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:37:08.174117
License: Public Domain

Judge PHILLIPS
concurring.
The erroneous refusal to delay the trial and allow plaintiffs a fair opportunity to deal with the complex new medical theory that the court permitted defendant to present in evidence, though not mentioned during long and extensive discovery, was greatly enhanced and compounded by other errors that it led to. These included permitting defendant, because of his “surprise” at the depth and ramifications of Dr. Roses’ testimony, to call two other unlisted experts to the stand, refusing to let an unlisted expert for plaintiffs testify that in his opinion the child was not congenitally deficient, but was injured during birth, and in refusing to permit plaintiffs to question certain witnesses of the defendant as the adverse hostile witnesses that they clearly were. Only the latter error will be discussed. Though permitting Dr. Roses to testify as to his congenital deficiency theory had the practical effect of virtually requiring plaintiffs to call him and Dr. Dillard, who had come to support the theory though of a different opinion earlier, to the stand near the beginning of the trial, the court refused to permit plaintiffs to question them as hostile witnesses. Under the provisions of Rule 43(b), N.C. Rules of Civil Procedure, a party has the legal right to interrogate hostile witnesses under *304the same conditions as though put on the stand by the opposing party. While determining whether a witness is hostile or not is normally within the trial court’s discretion, the situation is otherwise when the evidence indisputably shows, as it did here, that the witnesses were hostile to plaintiffs. Goodson v. Goodson, 32 N.C. App. 76, 231 S.E. 2d 178 (1977).
The evidence shows without dispute that: Dr. Roses is an old college friend of defendant, and though a busy medical practitioner at the Duke Medical Center, he rearranged his affairs on very short notice so as to be of aid in connection with defendant’s trial when and where needed; during that brief time he conferred with defense counsel, defendant, and his other expert witnesses, prepared for and gave his deposition at night, and was in Greensboro for the trial. Dr. Dillard, a professional neighbor and colleague of defendant’s, was engaged by defense counsel to school and advise him about the medical problems in the case, the clear purpose of which was to defeat plaintiffs’ case and exonerate the defendant. His situation was further compounded by the facts that: Though he had treated the infant plaintiff and thus owed him the same confidentiality that all doctors owe their patients, he, nevertheless, without being authorized to do so by either the plaintiffs or the court, discussed plaintiffs’ claim with defense counsel and other expert witnesses, assisted in preparing the medical defense, permitted defense counsel to list him as a witness for defendant, and the opinion expressed immediately after the child’s birth as to the cause of its condition was changed and he became a supporter of the belatedly developed congenital anomaly theory. Furthermore, the record shows that defendant’s counsel even had the temerity during the course of discovery to formally notify plaintiffs’ counsel by letter not to confer with his witness, Dr. Dillard, and that if he attempted to do so he would be reported to the grievance committee of the North Carolina State Bar; a course that the judge handling discovery ruled was a wrongful attempt on defendant’s part to “immunize” Dr. Dillard from the plaintiffs. And, of course, both witnesses are highly trained, educated, experienced doctors that were obviously capable of taking care of themselves as witnesses in their field of practice, which is all they were to be questioned about. Under the circumstances, that plaintiffs could not even ask leading questions of these witnesses, while the defendant did, and could neither im*305peach nor contradict the witnesses, as Rule 43(b) authorized, would warrant a new trial even in the absence of other errors, in my opinion. The case largely hinged on their testimony, which would probably have sounded materially different if it had been presented in the form plaintiffs were entitled to.