Wyatt by Caldwell v. Wyatt

In Wyatt by Caldwell v. Wyatt, 217 N.J.Super. 580, 590, 526 A.2d 719 (App.Div.1987), the Court held that the trial judge erred in refusing to admit rebuttal evidence relevant to the witness' credibility. There, the defendant testified that the car accident was the result of brake failure, not her negligence. Ibid. In rebuttal, plaintiff sought to introduce testimony from a witness that the defendant had admitted she had "removed the brake pads following the accident." Ibid. The Court said: "This was clearly proper rebuttal testimony both to attack Wyatt's credibility and as substantive evidence that the accident resulted from Wyatt's negligence and not from brake failure." Ibid.