Factual Organ Testimony in Civil Proceedings

In a dispute arising from the purchase of machinery, the lower court refused to examine an employee of the defendant as a witness, deeming her a "factual organ" of the party, leading the appellate court to address whether such individuals can testify as witnesses or only be questioned as parties. The court ruled that factual and formal organs of a legal entity must be treated equally in evidence proceedings, thereby changing prior practice to hold that a person acting as a factual organ cannot be called as a witness but only questioned as a party, because treating factual organs as witnesses would grant the legal entity an unfair procedural advantage over one whose representative is formally recognized, who must be questioned as a party.