Harrison v. Sears, Roebuck and Co.
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
981 F.2d 25 (1st Cir. 1992)
Benjamin Harrison (plaintiff) was injured using a carpentry jointer sold by Sears (defendant) when his hand slipped into an opening exposing the cutter blades, and he sued for negligence and breach of warranty. Sears's expert, Hyde, testified the injury could not have happened as Harrison described, and Harrison sought to cross-examine Hyde using evidence that Sears had since redesigned the jointer to remove the exposed-blade opening entirely. The district court excluded this cross-examination under Federal Rules of Evidence 407 and 403, the jury found for Sears, and Harrison appealed.
Whether evidence of a subsequent remedial measure is admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 407 when offered solely to impeach a witness's testimony.