Follansbee Bros. v. Garrett-Cromwell Engineering Co.

Citations

• 48 Pa. Super. 183
• 1911 Pa. Super. LEXIS 354

Syllabus

<p>Evidence — Witnesses—Expert witness — Qualifications—Rejection of testimony.</p> <p>1. To qualify a person to testify as an expert, it is not necessary that he possess all the knowledge in his special field of activity, or that his opinions coincide with the opinions of all others skilled in the same department. The failure of such a witness to answer to the satisfaction of the opposing counsel or the court, some question involving technical or scientific knowledge, is not a sufficient basis for rejecting his evidence, where he has shown a large, experience, and general familiarity with the subject under consideration.</p> <p>2. In an action on a contract relating to the construction of a steel plant, a witness may testify to the unskillfulness of the designs on which the plant was built, where it appears from his preliminary examination that the witness had had experience as a draughtsman in the making of designs for steel plants, that he had served under engineers engaged in the erection of such plants, and had had charge of the erection of some important works of the kind, himself; but in such a case the appellate court will not review the discretion of the trial judge in rejecting the testimony of a witness who had had some experience in the construction and rebuilding of open hearth furnaces as a master bricklayer and as a superintendent, but without his experience having been very extensive.</p> <p>Contract — Construction of steel plant — Evidence.</p> <p>3. Where a contract for the construction of a steel plant provided that the plans to be furnished to the plaintiff were to be similar to the plans of two furnaces which had been designed by the defendant and were in successful operation, the plaintiff may show that the plans furnished were dissimilar to those of the two existing plants; and if they do so successfully, the burden is then shifted to the defendant to account for the changes, and to show that they were within the terms of the contract.</p>