|
Article Excerpt
Defendants pitted against one another--it's a plaintiff's dream. The likelihood of winning at trial increases significantly when defendants and their experts criticize each other. And they will--if you force them to do so in depositions.
Typically, defendants develop evidence against the plaintiff, but you can make it literally impossible for a defendant or defense expert to refuse to admit in deposition that a codefendant made a mistake. This is true for any cause of action. Often, after one defendant criticizes another, the sense that someone is "going down" will increase a witness's willingness to tell you where the blame really lies.
The rules
Every person in our society relies on others to follow rules. For example, we rely on other drivers to obey traffic laws, on professionals to follow the appropriate standards of their professions, and on businesses to adhere to standards of truthfulness and honesty in their commercial dealings.
In lawsuits involving multiple defendants, each one failed to follow the rules, leading to the plaintiff's injury. But each defendant injured the plaintiff by violating a different rule--the rule that should have guided that defendant in that particular circumstance. The rule that was violated was often relied on not only by the plaintiff; but also by the other defendants.
When codefendants rely on each other to follow the rules, they can be counted on to testify against each other when those rules are broken. Under such circumstances, if a witness does not criticize a codefendant's failure to comply with a rule, he or she implicitly acquiesces in the violation, and in doing so assumes responsibility for it. And defendants don't want responsibility for the consequences of such a violation.
To elicit criticism of codefendants in deposition, focus on...
|
|
More articles from Trial
Perspectives from the front lines.(President's Page), November 01, 2003
Make the most of company-employee depositions: to get the best results..., November 01, 2003
Rebutting the implied-preemption defense: in products suits, drug comp..., November 01, 2003
A Measure of Endurance: The Unlikely Triumph of Steven Sharp.(Book Rev..., November 01, 2003
Elections, religion, and federalism top court's docket in new term.(US..., November 01, 2003
Looking for additional articles?
Search our database of over 3 million articles.
Looking for more in-depth information on this industry?
Search our complete database of Industry & Market reports by text, subject, publication
name or publication date.
About Goliath
Whether you're looking for sales prospects, competitive information, company
analysis or best practices in managing your organization,
Goliath can help you meet your business needs.
Our extensive business information databases empower business
professionals with both the breadth and depth of credible,
authoritative information they need to support their business
goals. Whether it be strategic planning, sales prospecting,
company research or defining management best practices -
Goliath is your leading source for accurate information.
|
|
