Opinion
A99A1980, A99A2150.
February 16, 2001.
Negligence. Dougherty Superior Court. Before Judge Phipps.
Cathey Strain, Edward E. Strain III, David A. Sleppy, James E. Staples, Jr., Cottingham Porter, Sidney L. Cottingham, Robert L. Porter, Jr., for Appellants.
Drew, Eckl Farham, W. Wray Eckl, Melanie C. Eyre, Lucian Gillis, Jr., Watson, Spensce, Lowe Chambless, Dawn G. Benson, for Appellee.
In Cooper Tire and Rubber Company v. Crosby, 273 Ga. App. 454 ( 543 S.E.2d 21)(2001), The Supreme Court found that this Court erred in Crosby v. Cooper Tire Rubber Co., 240 Ga. App 857 in ruling that the trial court was required to admit evidence of consumer claims honored by the tire manufacturer for tires manufactured at the tire plant where the tire involved in this action was manufactured. The Supreme Court found that [w]ithout an independent showing of a substantial similarity between the purported tire defect that caused the injuries in this case and the basis for the consumer claims that were honored by the manufacturer, this evidence was inadmissable. Id. Therefore, we vacate that portion of our earlier opinion and adopt the opinion of the Supreme Court as our own.
Judgment reversed and case remanded for new trial. Blackburn, C. J., and Barnes, J., concur.