Laubach v. Otis Elevator Co., 93-4074
| Decision Date | 21 November 1994 |
| Docket Number | No. 93-4074,93-4074 |
| Citation | 37 F.3d 427 |
| Parties | Donald LAUBACH, Appellant, v. OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY, Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
Stephen Henry Ringkamp, St. Louis, MO, argued, for appellant.
George F. Kosta, St. Louis, MO, argued, for appellee.
Before FAGG, BOWMAN, and LOKEN, Circuit Judges.
This is a personal injury case governed by the substantive law of Missouri. Federal subject-matter jurisdiction is based on diversity of citizenship. Donald Laubach, the home-state plaintiff, appeals an order of the District Court 1 denying his motion for a new trial after a jury returned a verdict in favor of Otis Elevator Company, the out-of-state defendant. Laubach claimed to have sustained spinal injuries when, on two separate occasions, an elevator in which he was riding fell several floors and stopped abruptly. The elevator, which was located at One Bell Center in St. Louis, was maintained by Otis. Laubach claims that the District Court erred by (1) excluding evidence of other incidents involving elevators at One Bell Center and (2) improperly instructing the jury with respect to the legal standards governing the question of Otis's liability. We affirm.
Laubach argues that the District Court erred in excluding evidence of other elevator incidents at One Bell Center that he claims were similar to the one in which he was injured. Laubach contends that these incidents, listed in Plaintiff's Exhibits 50 and 51, should have been admitted for purposes of impeaching Otis's expert witness, proving negligence on the part of Otis, and proving that the One Bell Center elevators were dangerous.
We note initially that a district court has broad discretion in ruling on the admissibility of proffered evidence. Dillon v. Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., 986 F.2d 263, 270 (8th Cir.1993). Accordingly, we will not disturb a district court's evidentiary ruling absent a clear and prejudicial abuse of that discretion. Dillon, 986 F.2d at 270. Although Laubach was not allowed to introduce evidence of incidents relating to other elevators in One Bell Center, he was permitted to introduce evidence of incidents involving the elevator in which he was allegedly injured. Based on our review of Plaintiff's Exhibits 50 and 51, we are satisfied that, as Otis contends, the incidents Laubach sought to introduce are not "substantially similar" to the occurrence in which he was allegedly injured. See Drabik v. Stanley-Bostitch, Inc., 997 F.2d 496, 508 (8th Cir.1993). Indeed, it neither appears nor does Laubach claim that any of the other elevator incidents involved sudden stops or resulted in even minor injuries to passengers. We find no abuse of discretion in the District Court's decision to exclude the evidence in question.
Laubach also claims that the District Court erred in its instructions to the jury regarding the applicable legal standards for determining whether Otis should be found liable to Laubach. Instruction No. 10, to which Laubach objected, read as follows:
The defendant in this case is not a guarantor or liable against [sic] any and all accidents and injuries that arise or occur by reason of the use of the elevator maintained by it. Nor is there any duty upon the defendant to maintain the elevator in an "accident proof" or "foolproof" or "accident free condition."
Laubach argues that this instruction was intended for use only in product liability cases, and that issuing it in an ordinary negligence case in which the plaintiff proceeds on a theory of res ipsa loquitur, as Laubach did here, is tantamount to directing a verdict in favor of the defendant.
As is the case with evidentiary rulings, a district court has broad discretion in framing its instructions to the jury. Sterkel v. Fruehauf Corp., 975 F.2d 528, 531 (8th Cir.1992). Accordingly, when reviewing a claim of instructional error, we consider the instructions in their entirety and determine whether, when read as a whole, the charge fairly and adequately submits the issues to the jury. Farmland Industries, Inc. v. Morrison-Quirk Grain Corp., 987 F.2d 1335, 1341 (8th Cir.1993). A single erroneous instruction will not necessarily require reversal. Id. at 1341.
We believe that Laubach misstates the import of Instruction No. 10 when that instruction is considered, not in isolation as he suggests, but in light of the entirety of the District Court's related instructions to the jury. Instruction No. 7 reads as follows:
Your verdict must be for plaintiff if you believe:
First, defendant Otis Elevator Company maintained and serviced the elevator, and
Second, the elevator made a sudden and unusual stop, and
Third, from the facts in evidence and the reasonable inferences therefrom, you find that such occurrence was the direct result of defendant's negligence, and
Fourth, such negligence directly caused or directly contributed to cause damage to plaintiff.
This instruction fairly...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Cross v. Cleaver
...whether, when read as a whole, the charge fairly and adequately submits the issues to the jury,' " quoting Laubach v. Otis Elevator Co., 37 F.3d 427, 429 (8th Cir.1994)); Slathar v. Sather Trucking Corp., 78 F.3d 415, 418 (8th Cir.) (stating this standard of review), cert. denied, --- U.S. ......
-
Sherman v. Kasotakis
...whether, when read as a whole, the charge fairly and adequately submits the issues to the jury,'" quoting Laubach v. Otis Elevator Co., 37 F.3d 427, 429 (8th Cir.1994)); Slathar v. Sather Trucking Corp., 78 F.3d 415, 418 (8th Cir.) (stating this standard of review), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 8......
-
Milhauser v. Minco Prods., Inc.
...in their entirety to determine whether the charge fairly and adequately submits the issues to the jury. Laubach v. Otis Elevator Co., 37 F.3d 427, 429 (8th Cir.1994). Erroneous jury instructions may be grounds for a new trial if “the errors misled the jury or had a probable effect on the ju......
-
Kostelec v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co.
...broad discretion. See Hoselton v. Metz Baking Co., 48 F.3d 1056, 1059 (8th Cir.1995) (standard of review); Laubach v. Otis Elevator Co., 37 F.3d 427, 428-29 (8th Cir.1994) (same). State Farm's claim of judicial bias is reviewable only for plain error, since no objection to the trial judge's......