Gordon

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff and appellant Scott Gordon sustained severe injuries when a Nissan Pathfinder he was driving rolled over. Gordon claims that the manufacturer of the vehicle, defendant and respondent Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., is liable for his injuries because the vehicle was defectively unstable. He also claims that the Pathfinder’s roof was defective because it was not crashworthy, that is, it was not adequately designed to withstand a rollover.

The case was tried twice in the superior court. The first trial resulted in a mistrial. The second trial, which is the subject of this appeal, resulted in a verdict in Nissan’s favor. Gordon elected not to pursue his roof defect claim at the first trial. Prior to the second trial, however, Gordon designated expert witnesses to testify about matters relating to that claim. By granting Nissan’s motion to strike portions of Gordon’s expert witness disclosure statement relating to the alleged defects in the design of the Pathfinder roof, the trial court effectively barred Gordon from presenting evidence on the issue.

The order granting Nissan’s motion to strike was reversible error. Gordon should have been given an…