Use of Deposition Testimony of Party Proper for Impeachment

Let’s say that you are involved in a Palm Beach estate dispute or perhaps a Palm Beach probate.  Depositions are taken.  At trial, a party is testifying and says something completely different than what they testified to at their deposition.  Can your Palm Beach probate litigator use the prior deposition testimony of the party to IMPEACH that party now on the witness stand?  Of course.  Here is an April 4, 2014 Polk County, Florida case where the trial judge did not permit the use of deposition testimony to impeach and was reversed.

Business Sale : Disagreement Over Terms and Interest Rate

• A lot of retired business owners live in Boca Raton, Florida and Jupiter, Florida
• What happens if there’s a glitch with the sale of the business?
• A disagreement with the buyers…… call your Palm Beach trial lawyer, right?
• In this Polk County case, a retiring couple sold their business to employees
• There was a document which set forth some of the terms, but not the interest rate for the sale and loan to fund the sale of the business
• At their depositions, the buyers of the business testified that no promissory note was signed and there was no agreement on the interest

At Trial:  Impeach the Witness with Their Own Words

• At trial, the deposition transcripts were brought out to show that the trial testimony was different than what was testified to in the depositions.
• The trial court in Polk County did not allow it and was reversed

What Can Palm Beach Estate Beneficiaries Learn From this Case?

• This is also a good case to read for interpreting wills or trusts.
• Why?  Because this Florida appeals case also stands for the legal rule that when a document, including a Florida will or trust, is un-ambiguous and clear on its face, no other evidence may be presented.
• The court merely reads the unambiguous will or trust or contract or document and tells us what it says.
• BUT, you can always, under the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, and the Florida Probate Code, impeach a party with their prior inconsistent statements and their deposition testimony.

If you want to read the case, it is Wright v. Czariki from the 2nd District, Case 2D11-5307.