Jones v. Pak-Mor Manufacturing Co.
Arizona Supreme Court
700 P.2d 819 (1985)
- Written by Rich Walter, JD
Facts
Jerry Jones (plaintiff) sued Pak-Mor Manufacturing Company (defendant) for injuries he sustained while using a trash compactor. At trial and over Jones's objection, Pak-Mor sought to introduce negative evidence that, over the compactor model's 26-year history, the company received no reports of injuries. The judge excluded the evidence because: (1) Pak-Mor's offer of proof failed to show how such negative evidence was relevant to the case, and (2) a 1936 Arizona rule made evidence of a product design's clean safety record per se inadmissible. Jones won the case and Pak-Mor's appeal of the judge's ruling reached the Supreme Court of Arizona.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Feldman, J.)
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