Hanlon v. Firestone Tire & Rubber Co.

Per Curiam.

Plaintiffs were injured when one of the front tires on their automobile failed, causing their car to go out of control and strike a guardrail. Plaintiffs allege that the tire, a product of the defendant corporation, failed due to a defect in its manufacture. The defendant contends that the tire failed due to a cut sustained by a contact with a sharp object. A jury in the Wayne County Circuit Court returned a verdict of no cause of action; *3plaintiffs appeal from a judgment entered pursuant to that verdict.

Plaintiffs first allege that the trial court erred in allowing the defendant to read to the jury a portion of its answers to plaintiffs’ interrogatories. The portion which the defense was permitted to present to the jury was relevant to another portion of the interrogatory previously introduced by the plaintiffs. Such a procedure is specifically sanctioned by the court rules (GCR 1963, 309.4, 302.4[4]) and accordingly we find no error.

Plaintiffs also allege that the trial court erred in admitting certain objects into evidence due to alleged gaps in the chain of evidence. We feel there was a sufficient identification of the items to permit their introduction into evidence, and to allow the jury to determine what weight they should be given. Witt v Chrysler Corp, 15 Mich App 576, 586 (1969).

Plaintiffs also argue that the trial court abused its discretion in allowing a defense expert to testify since his name had not been submitted to the plaintiffs within the time limits set by the court at the pretrial conference. Plaintiffs, nevertheless, did have the opportunity to depose this witness, and in fact did do so. GCR 1963, 301.3 specifically permits a judge to modify a pretrial order, and we find no abuse of his discretion thereunder.

Plaintiffs’ final arguments, that defendant’s expert was allowed to express opinions on matters regarding which he was not competent, and that the court improperly interjected itself into the proceedings, are both without merit.

Affirmed.

V. J. Brennan and Van Valkenburg, JJ., concurred.