Yolanda and Terrence Ballou, Etc., Lula Mae Leblanc, Etc., Cross-Appellant v. Henri Studios, Inc., Cross-Appellees
656 F.2d 1147 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 1981
Facts
On June 14, 1977, an automobile driven by Jesse Ballou, with twelve-year-old Leonard Herman Clay as a passenger, struck the rear of an eighteen-wheel tractor-trailer. The tractor-trailer, owned by Henri Studios, Inc. and driven by John Woelfel, was parked entirely on the right-hand shoulder of a curved, divided highway in Beaumont, Texas, due to accelerator linkage problems. Jesse Ballou was killed instantly, and Leonard Herman Clay died two days later. Woelfel testified he placed three warning reflectors behind his truck, and observed Ballou's car approaching on the shoulder without slowing. Yolanda and Terrence Ballou, Jesse's children, and Lula Mae LeBlanc, Leonard's mother, sued Henri Studios, Inc., alleging negligence.
Procedural history
Plaintiffs filed a diversity suit in Texas federal district court. Prior to trial, plaintiffs moved in limine to exclude blood alcohol test results, which the district court sustained. The jury initially found Henri Studios 40% negligent and Jesse Ballou 60% contributorily negligent, but the court resubmitted the case due to inconsistency. The jury then found Henri Studios 55% negligent and Jesse Ballou 45% contributorily negligent, awarding damages to Ballou's children and Clay's mother, but no damages for Clay's pain and suffering. Henri Studios appealed the exclusion of the blood test, among other issues, and Clay's mother cross-appealed the no-damages finding.
Issue
Did the district court abuse its discretion by excluding the results of Jesse Ballou's blood alcohol test, which showed 0.24% alcohol by weight, under Federal Rule of Evidence 403? Did the jury err in awarding no damages for Leonard Herman Clay's pain and suffering?
Holding
Yes, the district court abused its discretion by excluding the blood alcohol test results, requiring reversal and remand for a new trial for Yolanda and Terrence Ballou. No, the judgment awarding no damages for Clay's pain and suffering is affirmed.
Rule
Under Federal Rule of Evidence 403, evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, but a judge cannot exclude evidence based on their assessment of its credibility; credibility is for the jury. Issues of chain of custody or contamination go to the weight of the evidence, not its admissibility, once a threshold showing of reasonable precautions is made. Evidence of intoxication is highly relevant to contributory negligence, and its high probative value generally outweighs any slight potential for unfair prejudice, which must be more than merely adverse to be 'unfair'.
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