Thomas v. Crouse-Hinds, ECM

654 N.E.2d 686, 274 Ill. App. 3d 396
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedAugust 24, 1995
DocketNo. 5—94—0392
StatusPublished

This text of 654 N.E.2d 686 (Thomas v. Crouse-Hinds, ECM) 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
Thomas v. Crouse-Hinds, ECM, 654 N.E.2d 686, 274 Ill. App. 3d 396 (Ill. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

JUSTICE WELCH

delivered the opinion of the court:

This case arises out of an injury sustained by plaintiff, Don Thomas, while he was employed as an electrician by third-party defendant, Sachs Electric Company (Sachs). On September 14, 1990, plaintiff was working on a construction project at Granite City Steel installing electrical conduit pipe on the outside of a newly constructed casting building. Plaintiff, who was standing on a ladder tightening a 10-foot section of conduit pipe into a Crouse-Hinds LB67 conduit elbow, fell to the ground when the conduit elbow broke. Plaintiff suffered serious injuries as a result of the fall.

Plaintiff subsequently filed suit against, inter alia, defendants Crouse-Hinds, the manufacturer of the LB67 conduit elbow; Davey McKee (McKee), the general contractor on the construction project at Granite City Steel; and the National Steel Corporation (National), d/b/a Granite City Steel, the owner of the premises where plaintiff’s injury occurred. Plaintiff’s suit against Crouse-Hinds was based upon strict tort liability. Specifically, plaintiff alleged that the LB67 conduit elbow was unreasonably dangerous and defective because of a manufacturing defect. Plaintiff’s suits against McKee and National were based upon violations of the Structural Work Act (740 ILCS 150/0.01 et seq. (West 1994)). Crouse-Hinds counterclaimed against McKee and National, claiming violations of the Structural Work Act. Crouse-Hinds also filed a third-party action against Sachs, alleging violations of the Structural Work Act.

The following relevant evidence was adduced at trial. On September 14, 1990, at approximately 3:30 p.m., plaintiff was working on the outside of a Granite City Steel casting building running a 10-foot piece of conduit pipe weighing about 35 pounds from an inside junction box to a crane power junction box which was on the top of the building, approximately 30 to 35 feet from the ground. Plaintiff testified that he was on a ladder attempting to tighten the conduit pipe by turning it into a Crouse-Hinds LB67 conduit elbow. According to plaintiff, he was trying to get another three-quarters of a turn on the conduit pipe when the conduit elbow exploded and threw him off the ladder, causing him to land on his heels. Plaintiff estimated that he fell a distance of between four and five feet. Plaintiff testified that he was unable to stand up because of the pain in his ankles. Although plaintiff asked his foreman to save the conduit elbow, it was not preserved. However, Larry Anderson, a safety man working on the construction job, took two Polaroid pictures of the broken conduit elbow (plaintiff’s exhibits five and six). One photograph (plaintiff’s exhibit five) depicts a portion of the fractured LB67 conduit elbow attached to the 10-foot section of conduit pipe that plaintiff had been installing, which had fallen to the ground. The second photograph (plaintiff’s exhibit six) depicts a portion of the fractured LB67 conduit elbow attached to a section of conduit pipe coming out of the wall of the casting building.

Dr. Albert Karvelis, a vice-president with Packer Engineering, was Crouse-Hinds’ expert. He opined that the fracture of the LB67 conduit elbow was "the direct result of a sudden application of a levering or bending force.” Dr. Karvelis further opined that plaintiff fell, grabbed the conduit pipe, and broke it with his weight. Dr. Karvelis based his opinion on his examination of the two photographs that depict the fractured LB67, the documents generated in the case, measurements he made at the situs of the accident, and some laboratory tests "for demonstrative purposes.”

Shortly after Dr. Karvelis’ revelation about laboratory tests, a conference was held outside the presence of the jury during which it was discovered that Crouse-Hinds had failed to disclose the existence of certain laboratory tests involving three LB67s. As a result, the trial judge struck Dr. Karvelis’ testimony, prevented Dr. Karvelis from testifying any further in the case, and instructed the jury to disregard all of Dr. Karvelis’ testimony.

The case then went to the jury, which rendered the following verdict in favor of plaintiff and against Crouse-Hinds:

past and future lost wages $1,880,000
past and future medical expenses $ 600,000
past and future pain and suffering $ 260,000
disability and disfigurement $ 260,000
total $3,000,000.

The jury found Crouse-Hinds to be 100% at fault, National 0% at fault, and McKee 0% at fault. The jury also found in favor of National and McKee on Crouse-Hinds’ counterclaim against them and in favor of Sachs on Crouse-Hinds’ third-party complaint. On March 28, 1994, the trial court entered judgment on the verdict. On April 26, 1994, Crouse-Hinds filed a post-trial motion. On May 19, 1994, the trial court denied the post-trial motion but granted CrouseHinds a $300,000 remittitur in the award of past and future medical expenses.

Crouse-Hinds raises the following issues on appeal: (1) whether the trial court abused its discretion in striking the trial testimony of Dr. Karvelis, excluding him as a witness, and giving a jury instruction as to why Dr. Karvelis’ testimony was stricken; (2) whether the refusal to give a Tweedy instruction was reversible error (see Tweedy v. Wright Ford Sales, Inc. (1976), 64 Ill. 2d 570, 357 N.E.2d 449); (3) whether the jury’s award of past and future medical expenses is excessive and not supported by the evidence; and (4) whether the jury’s award of past and future lost wages is excessive and not supported by the evidence.

The first issue raised by Crouse-Hinds concerns the sanctions imposed upon it for failing to timely disclose the existence of Dr. Karvelis’ lab tests involving three LB67s. Crouse-Hinds argues that it did not violate Supreme Court Rule 220(c)(1) (134 Ill. 2d R. 220(c)(1)) because the tests conducted by Dr. Karvelis were "for the demonstrative purpose of illustrating a scientific principle, and did not serve as a basis for his opinion.” Furthermore, Crouse-Hinds argues that even if Rule 220 required disclosure, it made a "more than adequate disclosure.” Alternatively, Crouse-Hinds argues that even if it did violate Rule 220, the sanctions imposed were too harsh.

At the outset, we wish to address the issue of whether the three LB67s that Dr. Karvelis broke in his lab were demonstrative exhibits or tests that formed a basis for his opinions. In support of its position that the three broken LB67s were demonstrative exhibits not required to be disclosed under Rule 220, Crouse-Hinds cites Foster v. Devilbiss Co. (1988), 174 Ill. App. 3d 359, 529 N.E.2d 581. In Foster, plaintiff brought a products liability suit against the Devilbiss Company, manufacturer of the airless spray paint gun involved in plaintiffs injury. The jury returned a verdict in favor of plaintiff, and defendant appealed.

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Bluebook (online)
654 N.E.2d 686, 274 Ill. App. 3d 396, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thomas-v-crouse-hinds-ecm-illappct-1995.