Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Co. v. Century Home Components, Inc.

The plaintiff Pacific Northwest Bell had property in a warehouse which was destroyed by fire. A jury decided that the fire was not caused by the defendants in the operation of their wood manufacturing plant near the warehouse.

Plaintiffs contend the trial court erred in admitting certain testimony.

Sgt. Ayers, a state police officer assigned to the arson squad, was called by the plaintiffs and testified as an expert that the cause of the fire was the defendants throwing oil soaked sawdust into a wooden waste container. He also testified on direct examination that he had investigated the…