Leon v. Fedex Ground Package Sys., Inc.
| Decision Date | 01 February 2016 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV 13-1005 JB/SCY,CIV 13-1005 JB/SCY |
| Parties | ELLA LEON, individually and as personal representative of the estate of MARTIN LEON, deceased, Plaintiff, v. FEDEX GROUND PACKAGE SYSTEM, INC., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Mexico |
THIS MATTER comes before the Court on Defendant FedEx Ground Packages System, Inc.'s Motion in Limine to Exclude Evidence of the Accident Register Report and Other Accidents, filed November 16, 2015 (Doc. 65)("Register Motion"). The Court held a hearing on December 22, 2015. The primary issues are whether the Court should exclude Defendant FedEx Ground Package System, Inc.'s ("FedEx Ground") Accident Register Report and other evidence of prior accidents involving FedEx Ground's trucks, because: (i) the prior accidents are irrelevant to liability, compensatory damages, and punitive damages; (ii) the Court cannot determine whether the prior accidents were substantially similar to the accident at issue; (iii) FedEx Ground's conduct in the other accidents is too dissimilar from the conduct at issue; (iv) the danger of unfair prejudice and wasted time substantially outweigh the evidence's probative value; (v) Plaintiff Elia Leon seeks to introduce the evidence to prove that FedEx Ground acted in conformity with prior wrongs; and (vi) the evidence is hearsay not within any relevant exception. The Court will grant in part and deny in part the Register Motion. The Court concludes that the evidence of other accidents, including the Accident Register, is potentially relevant to liability and punitive damages. It determines that the evidence of other accidents, including the Accident Register, is inadmissible unless E. Leon can provide additional information to demonstrate that the other accidents are substantially similar to the accident at issue. Similarly, the Court cannot admit the Accident Register as evidence related to punitive damages because it cannot determine whether FedEx Ground's conduct in prior accidents was similar to its conduct in this accident. If E. Leon can provide additional detail on substantial similarity, the Court is unlikely to exclude the evidence on any of FedEx Ground's other objections.
The Court takes its facts from the Plaintiff's Complaint to Recover Damages for Personal Injury & Wrongful Death (Jury Trial Demanded), filed October 17, 2013 (Doc. 1)("Complaint"). On November 30, 2011, at roughly 11:00 p.m., Federico Martinez-Leandro was driving a tractor-trailer "eastbound on Interstate 40 in Cibola County, New Mexico approximately .2 miles west of mile marker 89." Complaint ¶ 12, at 3. Martin Leon, an authorized passenger, was present in the tractor's cab. See Complaint ¶ 13, at 3. Martinez-Leandro crashed the tractor-trailer into the rear of a second tractor-trailer while in the right lane. See Complaint ¶ 15, at 3. M. Leon suffered serious injuries and death as a result of the accident. See Complaint ¶ 16, at 3.
Martinez-Leandro was Eusebia Transportation, Inc.'s employee or agent. See Complaint ¶ 8, at 2. Eusebia Transportation, Inc. had leased the tractor and Martinez-Leandro's services to FedEx Ground, which provided the trailers and displayed its Department of Transportation number on the tractor. See Complaint ¶ 7-8, at 2.
Ella Leon brought suit as decedent M. Leon's widow and personal representative on October 17, 2013. See Complaint ¶¶ 2, 4, at 1. E. Leon alleges two causes of action in her Complaint: (i) a negligence and negligence per se claim based on FedEx Ground's failure to maintain and operate the vehicle in a safe manner, see Complaint ¶¶ 17-25, at 4-5; and (ii) a negligence and negligence per se claim based on FedEx Ground's failure to maintain and operate the vehicle in compliance with applicable safety rules and administrative standards, see Complaint ¶¶ 26-39, at 5-7. E. Leon seeks actual and compensatory, exemplary, and punitive damages. See Complaint ¶¶ 41-43, at 7-9.
On November 16, 2015, FedEx Ground moved to exclude the Accident Register and all "evidence of other accidents, generally." Register Motion at 1. FedEx Ground explains that the Accident Register "contained a lengthy list of reported accidents from December 1, 2008, through December 30, 2011." Register Motion at 1. It explained:
Accidents that did not have any injuries or deaths were redacted as set forth in the court's ruling on March 19, 2015. The Accident Register Report included accidents involving property damage, injuries (both minor and more severe) and deaths, but the Accident Register Report did not contain any specific information regarding the nature of the accident other than as stated above.
Register Motion at 1. FedEx Ground raises three primary arguments in favor of exclusion. First, it contends that evidence of any other accidents, including the Accident Register, is irrelevant to the current matter. See Register Motion at 2-3. It asserts that, because the other accidents "are too dissimilar from the collision in this case to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to this case 'more or less probable,' they are not relevant to this case." Register Motion at 3 (quoting Fed. R. Evid. 401). FedEx Ground points to Black v. M & W Gear Co.,269 F.3d 1220 (10th Cir. 2001), which it says held that any other incidents or accidents must be "substantially similar to the accident that is the subject of the litigation before the court" to be relevant and admissible. Register Motion at 3 (quoting Black v. M & W Gear Co., 269 F.3d at 1227). FedEx Ground defines "substantial similarity" to require that "conditions substantially similar to the subject collision caused the other conditions." Register Motion at 4 (). It notes that it is not aware of any cases with substantially similar facts. See Register Motion at 5.
Furthermore, FedEx Ground contends that rule 404(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence would bar the admission of any substantially similar prior collisions. See Register Motion at 5. It explains that the "exceptions that would permit such evidence to be admitted do not exist in this case." Register Motion at 5. It also attempts to cut off any arguments based on rule 406 on the grounds that prior collisions are not frequent enough and are not similar enough to constitute a "habit" or "routine practice." Register Motion at 5.
Second, FedEx Ground asserts that evidence of other accidents "should be excluded because its probative value is outweighed by its risk of prejudicing, misleading, and confusing the jury" under rule 403. Register Motion at 6. It argues that admission will lead to distraction, time-wasting, unduly emotional responses, and the inference that it "was negligent in this case because it was allegedly negligent in prior cases." Register Motion at 6-7 (citing Uitts v. General Motors Corporation, 411 F. Supp. 1380, 1383 (E.D. Pa. 1974)(Huyett, J.)).
Third, FedEx Ground argues that "[t]he Accident Register Report, accident reports from other collisions, complaints filed in other actions, complaints received by [FedEx Ground], police reports, or affidavits or statements of purported eyewitnesses to other accidents orincidents are hearsay and do not fall into any recognized exception to the hearsay rule." Register Motion at 8 (citing Fed. R. Evid. 802). It notes that E. Leon has not "identified any witnesses who can testify as to their personal knowledge" of other accidents and that even "records of a regularly conducted activity" do not fall within any hearsay exception because they are just summaries of other hearsay. Register Motion at 8 (citing Johnson v. Ford Motor Co., 988 F.2d 573, 579 (5th Cir. 1993)).
E. Leon responded on December 3, 2015. See Plaintiff's Response to FedEx Ground Package System, Inc.'s Motion In Limine to Exclude Evidence of the Accident Register Report and Other Accidents, filed December 3, 2015 (Doc. 85)("Register Response"). E. Leon explains:
Plaintiff does not intend to introduce evidence of the specific accidents that are listed on FedEx's report. The facts of those injury and fatal crashes are largely unknown to plaintiffs. It is the totality of those crashes, and FedEx's apparent indifference to the consequences of its failure to train that is a central issue in this case. That is appropriate evidence for that purpose.
Register Response at 2. She contends that rule 404 does not apply, because she would introduce the Accident Register to "show notice that FedEx knew or should have known the consequences of its deliberate policy and practice not to train its drivers." Register Response at 2. She describes the only other accident with which she is familiar as "strikingly similar to this one," adding that Register Response at 2. She contends that the jury can consider the Accident Register and testimony related to it: (i) to determine the level of care FedEx Ground was required to provide, given that the amount of care owed rises with the risk of danger; (ii) to consider whether FedEx Ground's conduct rises to the level of recklessness; and (iii) to fix an appropriate amount of punitive damages. See RegisterResponse at 2-3.
FedEx Ground replied on December 17, 2015. See FedEx Ground Package System, Inc.'s Reply in Support of its Motion in Limine to Exclude Evidence of the Accident Register Report and Other Accidents, filed December 17, 2015 (Doc. 109)("Register Reply"). FedEx Ground first points out that the Accident Register includes all reportable accidents over a three year period, including accidents that resulted in property damage and minor injuries, and covered the entire...
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