Dan Jahnsen had tried a case to verdict in which the plaintiff, a former postal employee, claimed significant injuries when an alleged errant “post-con” operated by his client, the only named defendant, struck her. The defendant had denied the incident ever occurred. The jury rendered a verdict in favor of the defense finding no cause of action existed. The plaintiff appealed the verdict, alleging various nefarious statements were made by defense counsel (Dan Jahnsen in case you lost track) during opening and closing statements. Among the various arguments of plaintiff that the Appellate Division summarily debunked, was that counsel referred to a radiologist defendant had retained but did not intend to call for trial testimony. The court found that since the plaintiff had opened the door, mentioning the doctor became fair game. Postscript: The Supreme Court is expected to clarify the extent to which a party may obtain an adverse inference charge for failing to call an expert retained. Post-Postscript: Contact Dan Jahnsen to discuss further this case or the real meaning of the phrase, “having a monkey on your back”.
