Jimena v. Alesso

Opinion

ORTEGA, Acting P. J.

This appeal arises out of a freeway collision in which the car driven by plaintiff/appellant rear-ended defendants/respondents’ car. At trial, the issue was whether the accident was a straight

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rear-end collision in which appellant was clearly at fault or whether respondent Clifford Alesso, who drove the other car, suddenly changed lanes and cut off appellant. Each side called an expert accident reconstructionist who verified its version of events. The jury found for respondents. The issue is whether a reconstructionist’s inconsistent testimony from a prior judicial arbitration hearing is admissible to impeach him at the trial. We hold it is not and affirm the judgment.

Discussion

I

California Rules of Court, rule 1616(c)

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addresses trial after arbitration and provides: “The case shall be tried as though no arbitration proceedings had occurred. No reference may be made during the trial to the arbitration award, to the fact that there had been arbitration proceedings, to the evidence adduced at the arbitration hearing, or to any other aspect of the arbitration proceedings, and none of the foregoing may be used as affirmative evidence, or by way of impeachment, or for any other purpose at the trial.” Evidence Code sections 770, 780, subdivision (h), 785, 786, and 1235 collectively permit attacks on witness credibility by use of prior inconsistent statements. The question is whether, since these provisions cannot be reconciled with rule 1616(c), the rule must give way to the statute.

Rule 1616(c), adopted by the Judicial Council, is a reflection of the Legislature’s strong endorsement in the judicial arbitration act of the use of arbitration as an alternative to the court system (Code Civ. Proc., § 1141.10 et seq.). The courts of this state honor the legislative intent to protect the integrity and finality of dispute resolution from unending litigation. (See e.g.,

Moore

v.

Conliffe