Shaneyfelt v. Byram

Citations

• 2020 Ohio 1406

Syllabus

Appellee's pick-up truck collided with appellant's tractor-trailer, which was backing into a driveway at night. Following a jury verdict in favor of appellant in this personal-injury action, the trial court erred in granting appellee a new trial based on appellant's use of demonstrative evidence that the court permitted the defense to use at trial. The demonstrative evidence consisted of computer-simulated partially-illuminated images depicting how the defense expert represented that appellant's tractor-trailer would have appeared to appellee from 600 feet, 400 feet, and 250 feet away before the collision. Although the trial court acted within its discretion in concluding after the trial that it should not have allowed appellant to use the demonstrative evidence, the images were not sufficiently prejudicial to warrant granting a new trial, because the jury determined by interrogatory that appellant was not negligent, and the demonstrative images related to the issue of whether appellee was comparatively negligent for not seeing the tractor-trailer in time to stop. Consequently, exclusion of the demonstrative evidence would not have changed the result. Judgment reversed remanded for reinstatement of the jury verdict.