Court Opinion

ID: 9647677
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 13:45:08.764798+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:31:12.156710
License: Public Domain

*293MEMORANDUM OF DISSENT
WELBORN, Commissioner
(dissenting).
I must respectfully disagree with the opinion of HOUSER, C.
“The question of the qualification of a witness as an expert in the field concerning which his testimony is sought and the necessity for admission of expert testimony in a given situation rests in the first instance in the sound discretion of the trial court, and its decision in those respects is not to be set aside in the absence of showing of an abuse of discretion.” (emphasis supplied) Yocum v. Kansas City Public Service Company, Mo.Sup., 349 S.W.2d 860, 864 [1], See also Jones v. Smith, Mo.Sup., 372 S.W.2d 71, 78 [11,12]; Dillenschneider v. Campbell, Mo.App., 350 S.W.2d 260, 266 [10-12]; Edwards v. Rudowicz, Mo.App., 368 S.W.2d 503, 506-507 [4-7].
These cases recognize the necessity for flexibility in determining the admissibility of expert testimony. A wide range of discretion must be granted the trial judge in admitting or excluding such testimony. Appellant’s counsel, at the trial, so acknowledged, stating: “Whether or not [the witness] testifies is solely up to Your Honor; it’s purely discretionary as to whether his opinion would be beneficial to this jury; and if it is a situation where the jury needs the benefit of expert advice.” Determination of whether or not the trial court has abused its discretion necessarily requires that the circumstances of the particular case be considered, as well as the qualification of the particular witness and the subject of his testimony. In this case, the proper determination requires consideration of more than the bare outline of the testimony of the plaintiff and of the defendant, followed, by a consideration, in a vacuum, as it were, of the expert’s testimony. At the time that the expert testimony was offered, plaintiff had testified that he was on the right side of the road at the time of the collision. Plaintiff’s counsel had read from defendant’s deposition the defendant’s statement that he was on his right side of the road at all times. Obviously, the crux of the case was to be, as it turned out to be, just which vehicle was where at the time of collision. Before the expert witness was offered, numerous photographs, offered by both parties, had been introduced into evidence. Some were taken at the scene of the collision shortly after it occurred, clearly showing the position of the cars as they had stopped following the collision. Other photographs introduced had been taken subsequently. The photographs revealed numerous tire marks on the pavement. Plaintiff was obviously more interested in certain of the marks. Defendant, on the other hand, tended to emphasize other markings appearing in the photographs. Clearly, just which of the markings appearing in the photographs were actually related to the collision would have a larger bearing upon the outcome of the case.
The situation was further complicated by the fact that the center of the roadway was unmarked. Each party may have honestly believed that he was on the proper side of the road. Obviously, at least one of them was mistaken. Furthermore, the opportunity of each driver to observe the other vehicle before the collision was extremely limited.
Such was the situation which the trial court had before it when Baker was offered 'as a witness. After the witness had been interrogated about his qualifications, there was no objection based upon the inadequacy of the witness’s credentials to testify as an expert in the field of accident reconstruction. Appellant’s general objection to his testimony was stated as follows: “I’m objecting to-his testifying in the capacity as a reconstructionist and the direct basis for my objection is that the factual evidence, the demonstrable evidence in photographs, and the availability of * * * lay witnesses is sufficiently clear, and there is no need for expert testimony to assist this jury in analyzing any aspect of this factual situation, and that by so permitting this man to testify we are invading the province of the jury *294in deciding the ultimate fact as to the position of these vehicles at the time of impact.” This objection, overruled by the trial court, was obviously without merit for at least two reasons. In the first place, the sweeping exclusionary rule for which appellant contended was clearly contrary to numerous decisions of appellate courts in this state recognizing that there are certain well-recognized areas for expert testimony regarding the facts of ah automobile collision. See Yocum v. Kansas City Public Service Company, Mo.Sup., 349 S.W.2d 860; Jones v. Smith, Mo.Sup., 372 S.W.2d 71; O’Neill v. Claypool, Mo.Sup., 341 S.W.2d 129; Central & Southern Truck Lines, Inc. v. Westfall GMC Truck, Mo.App., 317 S.W.2d 841. In the second place, the objection that the testimony would invade the province of the jury was not a valid objection. Numerous cases have so held. See State v. Paglino, Mo.Sup., 319 S.W.2d 613, 624 [13]; Mann v. Grim-Smith Hospital and Clinic, 347 Mo. 348, 147 S.W.2d 606, 608; Central & Southern Truck Lines, Inc. v. Westfall GMC Truck, Mo.App., 317 S.W.2d 841, 851.
Turning then to the specific matters which the opinion holds should have been excluded, the first is the position of the vehicles with relation to each other at the time of initial contact and at maximum engagement, the matters illustrated by the diagrams in the opinion. The witness first stated his opinion as to the relative location of the vehicles upon original contact. However, before the witness was permitted to express such an opinion, the trial court required him to state the basis for his opinion. The witness proceeded at length to state the matters which he had considered. They will not here be detailed, but, upon hearing them, the trial court was quite clearly warranted in concluding that the witness could properly express an opinion on the matter. In any event, the prejudice to appellant from the answer does not appear, inasmuch as defendant’s statement from his deposition, previously read into evidence, was that he was swerving to his right at the time of the collision, which is what the witness concluded.
The next matter relates to the position of the two vehicles at the time of maximum impact. Again, the witness explained at length the factors upon which his opinion was based, which included fundamental laws of dynamics and detailed examination of the damage incurred as revealed by photographic evidence. The trial court was not required to reject the opinion finally given because it was based upon photographic evidence available to the jury and upon generally known principles of dynamics. The witness, by virtue of his training and experience, was in a position to relate the evidence of damage and the fundamental principles of dynamics, and thereby help the jury to understand what had occurred.
As for the testimony of the witness as to the position of the vehicles in relation to the roadway at the time of collision, the testimony to which appellant points as objectionable related to the direction of travel of the vehicles “while they were still engaged with each other, touching each other before they separated.” The witness’s testimony was that the plaintiff’s sedan was traveling nearly parallel to the road in a westerly direction and the defendant’s station wagon at an angle of five or six degrees in an easterly direction. No objection was made as to the adequacy of the basis for this conclusion. Appellant here does not attempt to demonstrate the prejudicial effect of this particular item of testimony, and, finally, it is, at least as to the direction of defendant’s travel, consistent with defendant’s statement that he was swerving to the right at the time of the collision. Insofar as the witness’s statement in this regard is concerned, it was, at the most, merely cumulative.
The testimony that neither driver applied his brakes and that there was no evidence at the scene of braking by either vehicle is, likewise, merely cumulative and corroborative of the testimony of the drivers, neither of whom testified that the brakes were applied.
As for the testimony about the markings on the pavement, it is clear that not all could *295have been connected with the collision. However, the photographic evidence was not so clear that the assistance of an expert in eliminating the marks not connected with the collision could not be said to have been helpful.
The opinion finds “particularly prejudicial” testimony as to the location of the point of maximum impact, and the testimony that the left front wheel of defendant’s vehicle made the “scrub” mark, which was clearly in the plaintiff’s lane of traffic. The opinion concludes that this testimony amounted to testimony as to the point of impact.
However, the opinion finds no fault with the witness’s testimony concerning the cause, nature and characteristics of scrub marks, including the witness’s conclusion that a scrub mark is the product of the maximum engagement of the vehicles. The witness’s identification of a mark in the exhibits as a scrub mark is not questioned, nor is the witness’s testimony on the location of the various marks, including the scrub mark as one and one-half feet on plaintiff’s side of the road. This evidence, for all practical purposes, amounts to testimony by the witness as to the point of impact.
In any event, a rigid “no opinion testimony as to the point of impact” rule should not be applied. That rule had its origin in dictum in Hamre v. Conger, 209 S.W.2d 242. In that case, the court pointed out that there was no preliminary inquiry to determine the experience of the patrolman “to qualify him as an expert to determine the point of impact from the location of the debris.” 209 S.W.2d 247. That was sufficient reason for the error in admitting his testimony. The remainder of the court’s discussion of opinion evidence upon the point of impact was wholly dictum. However, the dictum by frequent repetition has now assumed the status of a rigid exclusionary rule quite inconsistent with the generally accepted principle that the admission of expert testimony is primarily a discretionary matter in the particular case. It is also to be noted that the court ultimately concluded in Hamre that the opinion evidence was inadmissible “since it invaded the province of the jury.” 209 S.W.2d 249. If, as the cases above cited hold, that is an unsound ground of obj ection to the admission of opinion evidence, it is an equally unsound basis for a judicial opinion.
To my mind, the trial court, in the circumstances of this case, properly concluded that the evidence which the opinion of Judge Houser holds was erroneously admitted was necessary to permit the jury to arrive at the facts upon which their ultimate judgment must rest. Automobile accidents may be matters of common occurrence these days, but that does not mean that ordinary jurors are so familiar with their characteristics and consequences that trained experts, applying laws of physics or dynamics, cannot point out a wide variety of factors which the untrained observer does not see or consider. Given a properly trained expert who is able to exhibit a sound basis for his opinions, a trial court, in a given case, should not be precluded from exercising its judgment and discretion in allowing the jury the benefit of such assistance.
There is a wide range of respectable authority which would support the admission of the evidence here. See: Miller v. Pillsbury Company, 33 Ill.2d 514, 211 N.E.2d 733; Dudek v. Popp, 373 Mich. 300, 129 N.W.2d 393; Frank’s Plastering Company v. Koenig, 8th Cir., 341 F.2d 257; Moss v. Associated Transport, Inc., D.C., Tenn., 33 F.R.D. 335; Annotation, “Admissibility of opinion or evidence as to point of impact or collision in motor vehicle accident case,” 66 A.L.R.2d 1048.
In my opinion, the trial court did not err and the judgment should be affirmed.