Posted by wlansden |
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By Brian Malcom
If you happen to "accidentally" move a key piece of evidence to set up a dramatic courtroom demonstration supporting your theory of a case and the opposition questions your conduct, cite your age.
The ABA Journal is reporting that a 70-year-old South Carolina attorney did just that in a case involving Kia's seat belt design in federal court. The attorney, J. Kendall Few, argued that a seat-back reclining lever severed his client's seat belt and allegedly caused his client to be thrown from the car during a 2004 accident. Kia argued that the plaintiff was simply not wearing his seat belt.
Kia lawyers brought a section of the car into the courtroom as an exhibit. Conveniently, when the defense presented the exhibit, the seat belt was wedged behind the reclining lever just like the plaintiff argued.
The plaintiff's attorney admitted that he moved the seat belt the night before the courtroom spectacle, but he said he thought he had put the seat belt back like he found it. In his defense, Few said "I'm 70 years old, and I'd been through a fairly hard day. I went down there, and I don't remember everything as good as I did when I was 25 or 30."
In a "close call," the federal district judge decided not to sanction Few. According to the judge, there was no conclusive evidence that Few acted in bad faith or committed intentional misconduct. As a side note, Few lost the case.
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