Garcia v. Aetna Cas. and Sur. Co.
| Citation | 657 F.2d 652 |
| Decision Date | 19 August 1981 |
| Docket Number | No. 79-2470,79-2470 |
| Parties | 9 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 49 Tony GARCIA and Martha Garcia, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. AETNA CASUALTY AND SURETY COMPANY, a foreign corporation doing business in the State of Florida, Defendant-Appellee. . Unit B |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit) |
Ralph W. Rinehart, Tampa, Fla., for plaintiffs-appellants.
Fowler, White, Gillen, Boggs, Villareal & Banker, Diana L. Fuller, W. Donald Cox, Tampa, Fla., for defendant-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Before VANCE, HATCHETT and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
This is a diversity of citizenship action in which the appellants, Tony and Martha Garcia, sought to recover the proceeds of a fire insurance policy covering their home and furnishings issued by the appellee, Aetna Casualty and Surety Company ("Aetna"). At trial Aetna raised a number of defenses which are reduced to these three: (1) that the Garcias materially misrepresented the value of their house in their application for insurance by overstating the number of square feet in the dwelling; (2) that the Garcias misrepresented the loss of personal property by the fire in their proof-of-loss statement; and (3) that the Garcias intentionally burned or caused to be burned the insured dwelling. The jury found that the Garcias had materially misrepresented the value of the house in their application for insurance, and the district court entered judgment in favor of Aetna. 1 The Garcias appealed. Among the issues raised by the Garcias on appeal is the contention that the district court erred in admitting into evidence the fact that a building leased by the Garcias had been destroyed by fire one year before their house was burned. We find that the district court erred in admitting the evidence of the prior fire and reverse and remand for a new trial.
On April 6, 1976, the Garcias purchased from Aetna through its agent, Davis Brothers Insurance Agency, a homeowner's policy which provided coverage (including fire loss) in the amount of $50,000 on the dwelling. Prior to the issuance of the policy, Mrs. Garcia had several conversations with Ms. Wanda Trasorraz, an employee of the Davis Brothers agency. At first, Mrs. Garcia stated that the value of the dwelling was $40,000. Ms. Trasorraz asked Mrs. Garcia to determine the dimensions of the enclosed area of the house to calculate the square footage in order that Ms. Trasorraz could estimate the value of the home. After several phone conversations, Mrs. Garcia finally reported that the house contained 2,110 square feet plus 595 feet in a storage room and half bath which she said was being added to the house. Although Ms. Trasorraz testified that she had instructed Mrs. Garcia to count only the enclosed areas of the house, Mrs. Garcia included the carport and porch area neither of which is enclosed in her calculations. It appears that the 595 foot addition was no more than a slab of concrete with the plumbing roughed-in. Based on these figures, Ms. Trasorraz calculated that the house should be insured for approximately $61,000. Mrs. Garcia thought that this was too much and insisted that she could afford no more than $50,000. Aetna's witnesses testified that the house contained only 1,776 square feet and should have been insured for about $37,000.
On September 10, 1976, the dwelling and its contents were totally destroyed by fire. The fire occurred while Mr. Garcia was incarcerated in jail and while Mrs. Garcia and their children were staying with Mr. Garcia's parents. Aetna's evidence showed without much dispute that appellants were in serious financial straits due to the attorneys fees and heavy bail arising from the pending criminal charges against Mr. Garcia at the time of the fire. Hector Carbonell, a relative of Mrs. Garcia, was charged with arson of the house and later pleaded nolo contendere to the charges. Under these suspicious circumstances, Aetna denied coverage and appellants filed this suit.
Approximately one year before the fire, a building leased by the Garcias for their crate business was also destroyed by fire. During cross-examination of Mrs. Garcia, Aetna's attorney elicited this fact over her attorney's objection. Appellants claim that the district court erred in admitting this evidence. Although this is a diversity of citizenship case where Florida law provides the substantive law, "the Federal Rules of Evidence govern the admissibility of evidence in the federal courts." Johnson v. William C. Ellis & Sons Iron Works, Inc., 609 F.2d 820, 821 (5th Cir. 1980). The purpose for which the evidence was admitted is unclear from the trial court's ruling. Aetna asserts two grounds to support the admissibility of the evidence. First, that the evidence was admissible to support Aetna's defense that the Garcias intentionally burned their home. More specifically, Aetna contends that the evidence was admissible to establish intent, motive, or absence of mistake or accident. Second, Aetna argues that the evidence was admissible to show that the Garcias were familiar with insurance and insurance recovery in general.
With respect to Aetna's argument that the previous fire evidence was admissible to show intent or motive, the evidence must be tested by the standard for admission of prior similar conduct. Fed.R.Evid. 404(b) provides:
Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show that he acted in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident.
Evidence of prior similar acts is subject to Fed.R.Evid. 403's limitation:
Although relevant, evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence.
In United States v. Beechum, 582 F.2d 898 (5th Cir. 1978), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 920, 99 S.Ct. 1244, 59 L.Ed.2d 472 (1979), we adopted a two-step rule:
First, it must be determined that the extrinsic offense evidence is relevant to an issue other than the defendant's character. Second, the evidence must possess probative value that is not substantially outweighed by its undue prejudice and must meet the other requirements of Rule 403.
Id. at 911 (footnote omitted).
The previous fire might be relevant to motive or intent on the part of the Garcias, and thus relevant to an issue other than character as required by the first step. However, as part of the first Beechum step, there must be, as a predicate for the admission of such extrinsic offense evidence, proof demonstrating that the Garcias did in fact commit the extrinsic offense, i. e., that the Garcias did in fact take part in the previous burning. That proof must be such that a jury could reasonably find that the Garcias did take part in the previous burning. United States v. Beechum, 582 F.2d at 912-13. Under any standard of proof, Aetna's proof falls short. Aetna introduced absolutely no evidence that showed the Garcias had anything to do with the previous fire. Therefore, Aetna has failed the Beechum test, and the admission of the previous fire evidence cannot be supported on the basis of its relevance to intent or motive.
The second ground asserted by Aetna to support the admissibility of the evidence is that the evidence was admitted to demonstrate the Garcias familiarity with insurance and recovery. We find no merit in this argument. The Beechum test is equally...
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