Maria Pinney, as Administratrix v. William Orth, Appellants

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals reversed the judgment and ordered a new trial, holding that under CPL §829 a party may testify to extraneous facts to impeach a witness's testimony about a personal transaction or communication with a deceased, and that the referee's exclusion of such testimony was not harmless. The court also clarified that the error was not cured by a stipulation deduction and required reversal.