Opinion ID: 2102404
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Offer to Compromise.

Text: Component Homes argues the trial court improperly admitted three letters written by Miller offering to settle his differences with Component Homes for $13,000. It is a well established principle that proof of an offer to compromise the controversy involved in a litigation, or of the fact that an offer to compromise was made, is inadmissible, apart, at least, from its possible admissibility as independently relevant evidence.... 31A C.J.S. Evidence § 285, at 722-23 (1964). See also Lewis v. Kennison, 278 N.W.2d 12, 14 (Iowa 1979); Sandman v. Hagan, 261 Iowa 560, 571, 154 N.W.2d 113, 120 (1967); Lynch v. Egypt Coal Co., 190 Iowa 1272, 1278, 181 N.W. 385, 387 (Iowa 1921); Fed.R.Evid. 408. It is also stated, however, that [t]he offer of settlement or compromise exclusionary rule is designed to exclude this evidence only when it is tendered as an admission of weakness of the other party's claim or defense, not when it is tendered to prove a fact other than liability. Pogge v. Fullerton Lumber Co., 277 N.W.2d 916, 921 (Iowa 1979). Accord, Fed.R.Evid. 408; Iowa R.Evid. 408; McCormick's Handbook of the Law of Evidence § 274, at 664 (2d ed. E. Cleary 1972); 31A C.J.S. Evidence § 286 (1964). There are several reasons for the exclusion of such evidence. One of the reasons is that it does not necessarily reflect the belief that the adversary's claim has merit, but rather a belief that the further prosecution of that claim, whether well founded or not, would in any event cause such annoyance as is preferably avoided by the payment of the sum offered. In short, the offer implies merely a desire for peace, not a concession of wrong done[.] IV J. Wigmore, Evidence in Trials at Common Law § 1061, at 36 (1972). The public policy favoring settlement of disputes is another reason for excluding evidence of compromise. See Yeager v. Durflinger, 280 N.W.2d 1, 6 (Iowa 1979); Lewis, 278 N.W.2d at 14; Fed. R.Evid. 408, Advisory Committee Note. Stated another way, since the law favors the settlement of controversies out of court, a person is entitled to endeavor to `buy his peace' without danger of being prejudiced in case his effort should fail; hence, any communications made toward that end will be regarded as privileged. 31A C.J.S. Evidence § 285, at 725-26 (1964). The situation here is somewhat unique. The letters had not been written by an adversary attempting to buy his peace; they were written by Miller himself. They could not, therefore, be objectionable as an attempt to establish an admission of liability by Component Homes. Furthermore, these letters had probative value quite aside from any consideration of admissions. In attempting to prove a violation of chapter 91A, Miller was required to show his employer's failure to pay was intentional. See Iowa Code § 91A.8. The letters demanding the $13,000 in commissions tended to show that Component Homes had not inadvertently failed to pay him. The trial court properly admitted these letters.