Reynolds v. A.C. Towne Corp.
| Decision Date | 10 July 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 1,1 |
| Citation | 518 N.Y.S.2d 528,132 A.D.2d 952 |
| Parties | Robert REYNOLDS and Georgiana J. Reynolds, Appellants, v. A.C. TOWNE CORPORATION, Respondent. Pullman and Swindell, A Division of Pullman, Inc., Defendants. A.C. TOWNE CORPORATION, Defendant and Third-Party Plaintiff-Respondent, v. TOWNE INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION, Third-Party Defendant-Respondent, and Crucible Specialty Metal Division of Colt Industries, et al., Third-Party Defendants. Appeal |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
Davoli, McMahon & Kublick, P.C. by Jan Kublick, Syracuse for appellants (Appeals 1-3).
Sugarman, Wallace, Manheim & Schoenwald, by Timothy Perry, Syracuse, for respondent A.C. Towne Corp. (Appeal No. 1).
Melvin & Melvin by Ronald Carr, Syracuse, for third-party defendant-respondent Towne Indus. Corp. (Appeals 1-3).
Bond, Schoeneck & King by Robert Slye, Syracuse, for respondents Pullman and Swindell and Swindell-Rust (Appeals 2-3).
Before CALLAHAN, J.P., and DOERR, DENMAN, PINE and DAVIS, JJ.
Plaintiffs instituted this action for personal injuries sustained by Robert Reynolds as the result of a fall at his place of employment. While climbing a ladder to reach a platform atop a furnace, Reynolds grabbed a "rebar" which had been temporarily welded to a railing around the platform. The rebar broke free, causing Reynolds to lose his balance and fall to the floor. The railing had been designed by defendant Pullman, manufactured by a nonparty, and affixed to the platform by A.C. Towne Corp. or its related entity, third-party defendant Towne Industrial Corp. The platform and railing assembly had been installed on the furnace by Reynolds' employer, third-party defendant Crucible. There was no proof as to who placed the rebar on the railing.
Plaintiffs challenge the court's entry of judgments dismissing the complaint against A.C. Towne Corp. and Pullman at the close of proof. In addition, plaintiffs appeal from an intermediate order denying their motion to amend their bill of particulars on the eve of trial. Plaintiffs contend that the court erred in precluding them from amending their bill of particulars against Pullman; in precluding certain expert testimony as not within the scope of plaintiff's original bill of particulars; in striking or precluding certain expert testimony as speculative; and in directing verdicts for defendants.
The court properly denied plaintiffs' motion to amend their bill of particulars. Plaintiffs' original bill focused on the claim that the injury resulted from the negligent placement of the rebar on the railing. Plaintiffs' proposed amended bill sought to inject a new theory based on Pullman's alleged negligent placement of the entrance to the railing on the opposite side of the platform from the point at which Reynolds attempted to gain access. Pullman clearly would have been prejudiced by the assertion of that new theory six years after the accident, over three years after commencement of the action, and almost one year...
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