Archer Daniels Midland Co. v. Koppers Co.

Plaintiff, Archer Daniels Midland Company, brought this action to recover damages allegedly sustained on July 7, 1979, when its structure, located in Galesburg and used for the storage of soya meal, collapsed. One of the defendants, A.O. Smith Harvestore Products, Inc., designed, manufactured and sold the product. During the course of pretrial discovery, A.O. Smith refused to produce an employee’s report as ordered by the court after several hearings and an in camera inspection of the report. (This court has also made an in camera inspection of the report.) Trial counsel for A.O. Smith…