Suit Settled After Witness Admits Lying

NEWS ARTICLE EXCERPT

By: Clif LeBlanc, The State (Columbia, SC), December 8, 2002

The key witness for an Elgin lumber plant facing a negligence lawsuit said he lied to a jury last week in federal court, prompting a $1.5 million settlement Friday.

Truck driver, Hugh Hunter, 61, of Sanford, N.C., lost most of his left leg in an April 13, 2001, accident at Conner Industries, said Hunter's lawyer.

Brandon Smothers, 19, the Conner forklift driver who ran over Hunter, will be investigated for perjury, court records show.

Federal Judge Dennis Shedd ordered that Smothers' testimony on Thursday be sent to prosecutors, "... to see if it's appropriate to pursue a perjury indictment."

It's unusual that a witness admits lying during testimony, Shedd said. "It's what most lawyers hope for in cross-examination," he told Hunter's lawyer, Dick Harpootlian.

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