Lindberger v. General Motors Corp.

56 F.R.D. 433 (W.D. Wis. 1972)

Facts

Lindberger (P) suffered personal injuries caused by General Motors' (D) negligence in the manufacture and design of a front-end loader which was sold to Lindberger's (P1) employer. D refused to answer Interrogatories 23, 25 and 26, submitted by P. These interrogatories asked whether any changes have been made in the loader or the design of the brake system, what those changes were, how they affected the utility of the loader, and who was responsible for them. D claimed that the subject matter of these interrogatories is privileged under the rules of evidence: evidence of subsequent remedial measures cannot be used to establish negligence or culpability. Because of this privilege, D refused to answer the interrogatories. P moved to compel D to answer.