Forsberg v. Harris

In this personal injury case, we decide: (1) whether the trial court erroneously permitted plaintiffs counsel to refer to the defendant’s employment “in the insurance business” in his opening statement to the jury; and (2) if so, whether such a reference requires reversal of the judgment entered on the plaintiffs verdict.

On December 17, 1986, Mark R. Harris was injured on a Norfolk residential street when the motorcycle he was riding collided with a car driven by the defendant, Fredrick H. Forsberg. In the trial of Harris’s action against Forsberg, the circuit court denied Forsberg’s motion…