Earle v. Cobb

Today, the majority of this Court holds that it is reversible error to deny a plaintiff in a tort action arising out of a vehicular accident the right to inform the jury that the defendant is covered by a policy of liability insurance. Because that decision abrogates generations of common law decisions to the contrary in this and every other jurisdiction in the United States save one (Florida), I dissent.

I. FACTS.

On February 17, 1998, Bonita Earle was injured when her automobile collided with an automobile owned and operated by Alice S. Cobb. Cobb, a retired schoolteacher, was exiting a high…