Conway v. Chemical Leaman Tank Lines, Inc.

After a fatal truck collision, plaintiffs sued Chemical Leaman (defendant), and at the close of a second jury trial, Chemical Leaman called undisclosed expert witness Arnold Hay, who offered an entirely new theory that both trucks' mirrors had collided near the center line, causing the fatal crash; the jury's interrogatory answers, apparently derived from Hay's testimony, found both drivers a proximate cause, resulting in a verdict for Chemical Leaman. After a subsequent third trial (following an initial reversal on other grounds) produced a verdict for the plaintiffs, the trial court granted plaintiffs a new trial specifically based on the improper admission of Hay's surprise testimony at the second trial, then entered judgment on the third trial's verdict; Chemical Leaman appealed the new-trial grant.