Carlson v. Healey

215 N.E.2d 831, 69 Ill. App. 2d 236, 1966 Ill. App. LEXIS 1411
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedApril 18, 1966
DocketGen. 65-63
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 215 N.E.2d 831 (Carlson v. Healey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carlson v. Healey, 215 N.E.2d 831, 69 Ill. App. 2d 236, 1966 Ill. App. LEXIS 1411 (Ill. Ct. App. 1966).

Opinions

MR. PRESIDING JUSTICE ABRAHAMSON

delivered the opinion of the court.

On January 12, 1963, at about 11:00 a. m., plaintiff, Frank J. Carlson, was northbound in an automobile on 15th Street approaching the intersection of 6th Avenue in Rockford, Illinois. The defendant, Herbert Healey, was eastbound on 6th Avenue approaching the intersection in an automobile owned by his employer, the defendant Highland Lumber and Fuel Company. The intersection was not controlled by stop signs or other traffic control signals. A collision occurred. The plaintiff filed suit for his personal injuries and property damage and the corporate defendant counterclaimed for its property damage. The case was tried before a jury with the verdict being in favor of the plaintiff against both defendants in the amount of Four Thousand One Hundred Sixty-One ($4,161) Dollars, and against the corporate counterclaimant on the counterclaim. The court entered judgment on the verdict and denied a post-trial motion. Defendants and counterclaimant appealed charging several errors both in the taking of the discovery depositions of the plaintiff and during the trial.

During the discovery deposition of the plaintiff he refused to answer several questions on the advice of counsel. These questions are as follows:

1. Now, considering these two payments that you had made, do you know what the remaining balance was at that time?
2. Now tell me how you know it (the horn) was working ?
3. Do you know of anyone that will say Mr. Healey failed to keep a proper or any lookout ahead for you or someone else in your car ?
4. Do you know of anyone that will say that Mr. Healey failed to yield the right-of-way to your automobile as he was approaching this intersection ?
5. Do you know of anyone that will say that Mr. Healey failed to decrease the speed of his automobile as he approached this intersection ?
6. Will you or will anyone else say that he was in any other manner driving his automobile in a negligent, careless or improper manner?

Defendants moved to compel answers to the questions propounded. After the motion was heard and denied, they thereafter moved to exclude all evidence pertaining to various allegations of negligence set forth in the complaint. This motion was likewise denied.

Appellee contends that the propriety of the taking of the depositions is not preserved for appeal because the deposition was never filed with the clerk and never became a part of the record in the case. Also, that the praecipe for record did not direct the inclusion of the deposition and further the evidence and arguments presented on the motion to compel answers were not incorporated in the record.

We note that the deposition of the plaintiff consisted of 70 pages and that of his wife, 40 pages. We also note that an extract of the transcript of the deposition was incorporated in the motion to compel answers and is contained in the record. We feel that the alleged errors are adequately preserved in this manner to receive our consideration.

An analysis of the questions indicated that the first question is directed at determining the balance due on a loan which plaintiff had made to finance the purchase of the automobile. We fail to see any reason for this question since the ownership by the plaintiff of his automobile was admitted in defendants’ answer and the parties ultimately stipulated as to the amount of the damage to the respective vehicles. We find no error in the court sustaining plaintiff’s refusal to answer this question.

The second question was addressed to plaintiff after he had previously testified during the deposition that the horn had been working at all times, that he never knew it not to work and that he was sure it was working. After this extensive questioning we feel that the second question was only argumentative and the court properly sustained the refusal to answer.

The remaining four questions are all essentially of the same nature, that is, requesting the plaintiff to state whether he knew anyone who would say that the defendant Healey was guilty of an ultimate allegation of negligence contained in the complaint.

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 19-4 (c 110, § 101.19-4, Ill Rev Stats, 1963) provides:

“Upon a discovery deposition, the deponent may be examined regarding any matter, not privileged, relating to the merits of the matter in litigation, whether it relates to the claim or defense of the examining party or of any other party, including . . . the identity and location of persons having knowledge of relevant facts . . . .”

It has been held that Illinois rules of discovery are a comprehensive set of rules designed to provide an effective and broad discovery deposition practice for Illinois. Coutrakon v. Distenfield, 21 Ill App2d 146, 152, 157 NE2d 555 (1959). Questions asked at a discovery deposition are not limited to matters admissible in evidence. People ex rel. Terry v. Fisher, 12 Ill2d 231, 237, 145 NE 2d 588 (1957). Ever since the 1956 opinion of the Illinois Supreme Court in Krupp v. Chicago Transit Authority, 8 Ill2d 37, 41, 132 NE2d 532, discovery deposition has been an appropriate method of determining the names and addresses of persons who have firsthand knowledge of the occurrence relating to the litigation.

There are, however, certain limitations upon the questions which may be put to a party in a discovery deposition. Section 58 of the Civil Practice Act (c 110, § 58(3), Ill Rev Stats) provides that a party shall not be required to divulge the names of witnesses he intends to call. There is also the commonsense rule that a lay party should not be required to reach legal conclusions as to the effect of the testimony which other witnesses might give. Fedors v. O’Brien, 39 Ill App2d 407, 413, 188 NE2d 739 (1963); Reske v. Klein, 33 Ill App2d 302, 306 (1962); and American Oil Co. v. Penn Petroleum Co., 23 FRD 680.

We feel that counsel should and did in this case have full opportunity to interrogate witnesses on discovery deposition as to facts, however, we feel that the questions framed in the “who will say” manner violate both the rule forbidding the disclosure of witnesses who will be called at the trial and the rule excusing the lay witnesses from being required to give legal conclusions. We feel that the circuit court judges who ruled on defendants’ pretrial motions properly denied these motions.

Appellant charges that the court erred in refusing four instructions being defendants’ Instructions Nos. 14, 19, 21 and 24. No error with respect to Instruction 14 was claimed in defendants’ post-trial motion and the point has accordingly been waived. Ill Rev Stats, c 110, §68.1(2).

The subject matter of defendants’ Instruction 19 was adequately covered by defendants’ Instruction 20 which was given. Defendants’ Instruction No. 21 is a sudden and eminent danger instruction which was marked “refused” by the court as having been covered. There was no justification for this instruction to be given. See Committee Comment IPI, page 80.

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Carlson v. Healey
215 N.E.2d 831 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1966)

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Bluebook (online)
215 N.E.2d 831, 69 Ill. App. 2d 236, 1966 Ill. App. LEXIS 1411, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carlson-v-healey-illappct-1966.