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Keywords

plaintiffdamagesnegligencetrialverdictcredibility
plaintiffdamagesappealtrialverdicttestimonymotionwillcredibility

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Ballou v. Henri Studios, Inc., 656 F.2d 1147, 9 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 71

Facts

On June 14, 1977, Jesse Ballou's car struck the rear of a parked eighteen-wheel tractor-trailer in Beaumont, Texas, resulting in Ballou's instant death and the death of his passenger, Leonard Herman Clay, two days later. The plaintiffs, children of Ballou and the mother of Clay, filed a suit against Henri Studios, claiming negligence on the part of the truck driver, John Woelfel. The defense argued that Ballou was negligent, and a blood alcohol test indicated he was intoxicated at the time of the accident, which the court later excluded from evidence.

On the afternoon of June 14, 1977, an automobile traveling at approximately fifty miles per hour struck the rear of an eighteen-wheel tractor-trailer which was parked entirely on the right hand shoulder of a curved, divided highway in Beaumont, Texas.

Issue

Did the district court err in excluding the blood alcohol test results and in its handling of the jury's verdict regarding damages for the passenger's pain and suffering?

The Court of Appeals, Jerre S. Williams, Circuit Judge, held that: (1) exclusion of blood test results indicating that automobile driver was intoxicated at time of collision was reversible error, and (2) jury's refusal to award damages for passenger's pain and suffering had to be affirmed.

Rule

The court applied the Federal Rules of Evidence, particularly Rule 403, which allows for the exclusion of evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice.

The Court will sustain the Plaintiffs' Motion in Limine because of the lack of credibility of the tests of alcoholism at the time of the wreck, especially in view of the testimony of Mrs. Eisenhower and the time which the accident occurred.

Analysis

The court determined that the district court's exclusion of the blood alcohol test results was an abuse of discretion, as the potential for unfair prejudice did not substantially outweigh the probative value of the evidence. The court emphasized that the credibility of the test results should have been a matter for the jury to decide, rather than the judge. Additionally, the court found that the jury's decision to award no damages for Clay's pain and suffering was inconsistent with the evidence presented.

Concluding that the district court erred in excluding the results of the blood alcohol test, we reverse the judgment in favor of Yolanda and Terrence Ballou and remand for a new trial.

Conclusion

The court reversed the judgment in favor of the plaintiffs regarding the blood alcohol test and remanded for a new trial, while affirming the judgment that awarded no damages for Clay's pain and suffering.

We therefore conclude that the district court committed reversible error in excluding the results of the blood test under Rule 403 and that the judgment in favor of Yolanda and Terrence Ballou must be reversed and the cause remanded for a new trial.

Who won?

Henri Studios prevailed in part, as the court affirmed the jury's decision not to award damages for Leonard Herman Clay's pain and suffering, citing the lack of evidence proving conscious pain.

Henri Studios raises several issues on appeal, including the trial court's alleged reversible error in excluding the results of the blood alcohol test, refusing to accept the original verdict of the jury, resubmitting the case to the jury in a manner that had the effect of coercing a verdict for the plaintiffs.

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