Marple v. SEARS, ROEBUCK AND CO.

Plaintiff, Gerald Marple, was injured while standing at a customer counter in a Sears, Roebuck and Co. store when a refrigerator being moved to a stockroom was pushed into him. The trial court directed a verdict on liability, and the jury awarded Marple damages. Sears appeals, claiming, among other things, that the trial court erred in directing a verdict on liability and that the trial court erred in permitting plaintiff’s counsel to comment on the defense’s failure to produce a witness at trial who had been listed as an expert iri defendant’s pretrial memorandum but later changed to a…