Personal Injury Attorney Reviews Casteel v. Maddalena
In Casteel v. Maddalena, the Court of Appeal for the Second District examines whether a witness that provides unexpected false testimony to a personal injury attorney during trial can be used to obtain relief from the judgment based on newly discovered evidence and/or fraud.[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent="yes" overflow="visible"][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="no" center_content="no" min_height="none"][1] In the instant case, John Casteel was riding his motorcycle. It is not in dispute that he pulled up to a stop sign on the right side of a four lane roadway, separated by a median. Casteel claims that he crossed halfway across the four lane highway and stopped on the median and put his foot on the ground to steady his motorcycle while he waited for the traffic to clear from the traffic flowing in the opposite direction. It was during this time that Casteel alleges Anna Maddalena struck Casteel with her vehicle. Maddalena disputes this account, and instead indicates that Casteel was still crossing the road when she hit him. Maddalena further testified to a personal injury attorney that she was within her lane when she hit Casteel. Based on their testimony, a jury in the personal injury litigation placed Casteel 55% liable for the accident, while Maddalena was found to be 45% liable. A major portion of dispute argued by the personal injury attorneys was the exact location of the accident. Casteel’s girlfriend, Melanie Lopez, surprised the court when she testified to the personal injury attorney that she viewed skid marks at the scene. Lopez’s testimony was a surprise to Maddalena because Lopez claimed that the roadway had been paved the day before. This testimony [...]