Opinion ID: 1161683
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Shelter Insurance Records

Text: The Shelter Insurance records included records of chiropractic treatment of David and Adam submitted by Dr. Loeb to Shelter Insurance in support of David's and Adam's insurance claims, David's and Adam's applications for PIP benefits, wage verification forms, and two calendars which summarized the insurance payout dates and amounts. The Shelter Insurance investigator testified that the two calendars summarizing the dates and amounts of insurance payouts were not prepared in the ordinary course of business at Shelter Insurance. K.S.A. 60-460(m) provides that the judge must find that business records admitted as evidence must have been made in the regular course of business. Clearly, the calendars do not meet this criterion; therefore, the calendars were erroneously admitted as business records. Although the calendars were improperly admitted, under the circumstances, the error was harmless. The defendants also objected to admission of copies of Shelter Insurance business records. As previously noted, K.S.A. 60-467, the best evidence rule, provides that copies of business records shall not be excluded as evidence where copies of the records are provided by the witness in response to a subpoena duces tecum and originals were not specifically requested. However, as to the insurance company's records admitted, the Shelter Insurance investigator testified that the insurance records were from the file of the district attorney, and he had not been requested to bring records to court. Although the records were provided by Shelter Insurance to the district attorney pursuant to a subpoena duces tecum, the exception to the best evidence rule does apply, and the copies of the records were properly admitted.