Gwaltney v. Morris

Marbury, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. Appellant, Ida Mae Gwaltney, sued to recover damages for the wrongful death of her husband, Cecil Clair Gwaltney, as his personal representative, under the provisions of Title 8, Sections 633-40 of the Virginia Code, the substantive law governing, because the accident occurred in Virginia. It was brought in Maryland against the appellee, Morris, since he was a resident of this State. ¹⁷⁵ On September 22, 1962, while driving in his proper lane on Route 7 in Virginia, the decedent’s automobile was struck by a vehicle operated by appellee. Eyewitnesses testified that Morris was recklessly pursuing their car when his vehicle crossed into the opposing traffic lane and struck decedent’s automobile.

There was testimony that appellee and another passenger appeared highly inebriated. During the cross-examination of appellant, three witnesses produced by the appellee, Nancy C. Gwaltney, Joseph C. Gwaltney, children of decedent by previous marriages, and William E. Leftwich entered the courtroom and heard questions addressed to appellant. Appellee’s counsel noticed them and raised the question posed by their presence in view of the rule on excluding witnesses which had been invoked by him. Appellant at that time objected to permitting them to testify because they had violated the exclusion rule.

The court ruled that they could testify because “it had not reached the point where it has prejudiced any party to the proceedings,” and thereupon excluded them from the courtroom. Dr. Pack, decedent’s attending physician, testified that he was in good health a year before the accident, and that after the accident his physical condition progressively deteriorated until he died on November 6, 1962, of aggravated hypertension, lung contusion, fractured ribs and renal failure, and that the trauma from the accident caused his death. Thereafter, appellant offered as a witness Clarence S. Bruce, a United States government expert in vehicular collisions, for the purpose of testifying to the force of the collision in terms of foot pounds of pressure on the basis of the evidence, his experiments and experience. The court sustained appellee’s objection to this proffered testimony on the ground that the expert was not qualified.

The jury retired, and while considering their verdict, addressed a note to the trial court inquiring: “Did Dr. Pack testify that the accident caused Mr. Gwaltney’s death or could have caused his death?” The court after conferring with counsel recalled the jury and declined to answer the question, explaining that this portion of Dr. Pack’s testimony could not be reread without rereading Dr. Pack’s entire testimony, direct, cross and redirect, which was not customary or proper. Where ¹⁷⁶ upon, the jury returned to the jury room and subsequently brought in a verdict for the appellee. The appellant first contends that the ruling of the trial court in permitting appellee’s witnesses to testify after they had violated the ruling on the exclusion of witnesses was prejudicial error. These witnesses had been challenged by the bailiff as they entered the courtroom, but they remained therein five to seven minutes until noticed by the appellee’s counsel, who was in the process of cross-examination of the appellant.

Appellant argues that the witnesses1’ testimony should have been excluded because they heard some of her answers on cross-examination and thus this would affect their own testimony. However, we find from the record that their testimony was limited and in essence was to the effect that their father was a heavy drinker throughout his life, that the marital relationship between the decedent and Mrs. Gwaltney was not good, and a divorce was contemplated. It is improbable from the very nature of their testimony that they would in fact have learned anything which would assist them in testifying. We think that it was not prejudicial