Scales v. BENNE

959 N.E.2d 764, 355 Ill. Dec. 350
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedSeptember 30, 2011
Docket1-10-2253
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 959 N.E.2d 764 (Scales v. BENNE) 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
Scales v. BENNE, 959 N.E.2d 764, 355 Ill. Dec. 350 (Ill. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

959 N.E.2d 764 (2011)
355 Ill. Dec. 350

Sylvester SCALES, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
Joseph BENNE, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 1-10-2253.

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Sixth Division.

September 30, 2011.

*765 Dean J. Caras, Chicago, IL, for appellant.

Bruce Farrel Dorn & Associates, Chicago (Joseph Benne, Ellen J. O'Rourke, Mark A. Martin, of counsel), for appellee.

OPINION

Justice GARCIA delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 A jury returned a no-liability verdict regarding an accident in which the plaintiff, a pedestrian, claimed he was struck by the defendant's car while crossing the intersection of Clybourn and North Avenue in Chicago. The plaintiff argues the circuit court erred in barring use of photographs of the intersection and of the defendant's vehicle model grounded on the plaintiff's failure to disclose the photographs prior to trial pursuant to a discovery request. The plaintiff claimed disclosure was not compelled under the discovery rules because he intended to use the photographs only during the plaintiff's examination of the defendant as an adverse witness. The circuit court emphatically rejected the plaintiff's contention. We affirm.

*766 ¶ 2 The circuit court did not abuse its discretion in barring the plaintiff's use of photographs not disclosed as required by the discovery rules. Even if a legitimate excuse existed for the plaintiff's failure to tender the photographs prior to trial, the plaintiff did not meet his burden of demonstrating prejudice arising from the exclusion of the photographs to merit a new trial.

¶ 3 BACKGROUND

¶ 4 The central factual disputes before the jury in this vehicle-pedestrian collision were the location of the collision and whether the defendant hit the plaintiff or the plaintiff walked into the side of the defendant's car. The plaintiff claimed he was in the crosswalk when he was struck by the defendant's car; the defendant claimed the plaintiff was some distance from the crosswalk when he walked into the side of the defendant's car. A single witness testified in addition to the plaintiff and the defendant. Witness Bradley Allen testified consistent with the defendant's version of the accident.

¶ 5 Long before trial, the defendant filed a notice to produce "[a]ll photographs, slides, or motion pictures taken subsequent to the alleged occurrence of the Plaintiff, the vehicles or other physical objects involved or the scene of the alleged occurrence," pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 214 (Ill. S.Ct. R. 214 (eff.Jan. 1, 1996)). The plaintiff's response did not include the photographs at issue, nor did the plaintiff supplement his Rule 214 response. The plaintiff claimed he obtained the photographs on the eve of trial.

¶ 6 The plaintiff tendered the photographs at the conference immediately prior to calling the defendant as an adverse witness in his case in chief. Three photographs were tendered: Exhibit A, a photograph of the make and model of the defendant's vehicle from Autotrader.com; Exhibit B, an aerial photograph of the intersection of Clybourn and North Avenue from Google.com; and Exhibit C, an aerial photograph of the intersection from Mapquest.com. Defense counsel objected: "There are a bunch of things being produced now * * * that we never saw before."

¶ 7 The trial court reviewed the defendant's Rule 214 request to produce:

"[T]here was a request, under 214, which was—it was sent out June of '09, addressing what you have raised with me, subsection three [of Rule 214] requires [production] if it is photos, motion pictures of the following items, the plaintiff's vehicle or other physical objects or scene of occurrence. What's the response?"

Plaintiff's counsel responded that he showed defense counsel the three photographs before the start of trial, pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 237 (Ill. S.Ct. R. 237 (eff. July 1, 2005)). Plaintiff's counsel admitted he did not disclose the existence of the photographs pursuant to Rule 214. The trial court barred the use of the photographs.

"While I pointed out that 237 has been amended, the reason for the amendment was as follows, to stop 237 from becoming a discovery device. Therefore, if it were not asked for under 214, you couldn't get it under 237; but the reverse is not [true]. If it was asked for under 214, you can't comply with 214 by complying with 237."

¶ 8 Plaintiff's counsel stated his disagreement for the record: "I do not believe that it's required that those be produced prior to using them for cross-examination, when the defendant, who is an adverse witness, is on the stand." *767 The cause proceeded to trial without the photographs.

¶ 9 Called as an adverse witness, the defendant testified the incident took place as he was driving home from work on August 1, 2008. He was driving northbound on Clybourn, to westbound North Avenue to access the Kennedy Expressway. The defendant was moving into the left-turn lane of Clybourn, at its intersection with North Avenue, when he heard a "thud" toward the rear of the passenger side of the car. The defendant explained that Clybourn is an angle street, with its left-turn lane long enough to hold six cars. Plaintiff's counsel renewed his request to use the excluded photographs of the intersection, which the court denied. The defendant testified that when he heard the thud, he was four or five car lengths south of the intersection crosswalk.

¶ 10 Outside the presence of the jury, plaintiff's counsel made an offer of proof by voir dire of the defendant. The defendant testified he was familiar with the intersection of North Avenue and Clybourn as it was his common route home from work. He confirmed his testimony that he believed the left-turn lane was long enough to hold six cars. The defendant further admitted that after the incident, he returned to the scene to take a closer look at the left-turn lane. Based on this closer inspection, he concluded the lane could hold six cars. He also admitted that he visited Mapquest.com to do research on the intersection. Plaintiff's counsel showed the defendant Exhibit C, which the defendant admitted accurately depicted the left turn lane as it existed on the day of the accident. The defendant acknowledged he was familiar with the model of the vehicle depicted in Exhibit B, an Infiniti sedan, which was similar to the one he drove on the day of the accident. The trial court admitted the photographs for purposes of the offer of proof.

¶ 11 The plaintiff testified he took the train to a station at the intersection of North Avenue and Clybourn, intending to go to the bank on the opposite corner of the intersection. When he started to cross the street at the southeast corner of the intersection, the light for northwest bound traffic on Clybourn was red. He claimed he walked in the crosswalk when he was struck by the defendant's car. He testified the passenger-side front fender of the defendant's car made contact with his body, causing him to spin around.

¶ 12 Mr. Allen testified he witnessed the collision between a pedestrian and a vehicle on August 1, 2008. At the time, he was going northwest on Clybourn and was stopped at the intersection, about two car lengths south of where the left-turn lane began and about five car lengths back from the intersection. When asked how many car lengths from the crosswalk the collision between the car and the pedestrian occurred, Mr.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Johnson v. Armstrong
2021 IL App (4th) 210014-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2021)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
959 N.E.2d 764, 355 Ill. Dec. 350, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/scales-v-benne-illappct-2011.