Opinion ID: 202275
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Trial-Error Claims

Text: 35 The City challenges several evidentiary rulings. We review these claims for an abuse of discretion. See Ramirez v. Debs-Elias, 407 F.3d 444, 449 (1st Cir. 2005). Erroneous evidentiary rulings are harmless if it is highly probable that the error did not affect the outcome of the case. See Rodriguez-Hernandez v. Miranda-Velez, 132 F.3d 848, 855 (1st Cir. 1998). 36 The City's first claim is that the district court abused its discretion by declining to allow it to introduce evidence that McDonough had lost his previous lawsuit against the City. 5 See supra at ___. The City argues that this evidence was relevant because it showed that McDonough was litigious and had a history of bringing meritless lawsuits. 37 Because the charge of litigiousness is a serious one, likely to result in undue prejudice against the party charged[,] Outley v. City of New York, 837 F.2d 587, 592 (2d Cir.1988), ordinarily proof that the plaintiff filed prior similar lawsuits is admissible to show the plaintiff's litigiousness only if there is also evidence that the prior lawsuits were fraudulently filed, see McCormick on Evidence, § 196 at 691 (5th ed.1999). Here, there is evidence that McDonough filed one prior lawsuit against the City after he was denied a promotion. But, while that lawsuit was unsuccessful, there is nothing suggesting that it was fraudulently filed. See Mathis v. Phillips Chevrolet, Inc., 269 F.3d 771, 776-77 (7th Cir.2001) (concluding that there was no abuse of discretion in declining to admit evidence of prior lawsuits where the evidence was in dispute whether the prior suits were fraudulently brought or merely unsuccessful). The district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding evidence about the result of McDonough's prior lawsuit against the City. 38 The City next contends that the district court improperly precluded it from questioning McDonough about his contentious relationship with the mayor and the police department. We disagree with the City's characterization of the district court's ruling. The City was permitted to ask McDonough about his strained relationships with certain department officials, to introduce the fact that McDonough had sued the City on a prior occasion, and to present documents highlighting various points of dispute between McDonough and the department. The ruling in question involved the court telling the City to move on after counsel had asked McDonough several repetitive questions about his relationship with Captain Falco. 39 Under Fed.R.Evid. 403, the district court retains discretion to prevent the needless presentation of cumulative evidence. Donovan v. Burger King Corp., 672 F.2d 221, 225 (1st Cir.1982). The court provided the City with ample opportunity to highlight McDonough's sour relationship with the City. It was within the court's discretion to draw the line where it did. 40 The City's third evidentiary argument is that the district court abused its discretion by permitting McDonough to present a chalk to the jury stating that Coletta had settled her lawsuit for $500,000. Even if this information should not have been presented to the jury, the City did not timely object to the chalk, and the court sua sponte explained that the jury should not infer anything from the amount of the Coletta settlement. We have held, [that] the potential for prejudice... [often] can be satisfactorily dispelled by appropriate curative instructions, as [j]urors are presumed to follow such instructions, except in extreme cases. United States v. Richardson, 421 F.3d 17, 41 (1st Cir.2005). Given the tangential relevance of the Coletta settlement and the court's timely limiting instruction, we are confident that the verdict was not swayed by the chalk. 41 Finally the City argues the district court wrongly admitted out-of-court statements by Falco and Madden concerning the decision to place McDonough on administrative leave. The City contends that these statements were hearsay and could not be received as admissions under Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(D) because the declarants were not policymakers, (which the City would limit in this case to the chief of police and the mayor). 42 For a statement to be an admission under Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(D), it must be made by a party, a party's agent, or a servant within the scope of an agency or employment. See Gomez v. Rivera Rodriguez, 344 F.3d 103, 116 (1st Cir. 2003). The employee's station within the organization is not relevant to the Rule 801(d)(2) analysis. See Woodman v. Haemonetics Corp., 51 F.3d 1087, 1093-94 (1st Cir.1995) (rejecting argument that statements by first-line supervisor with no firing authority could not be admissions under Rule 801(d)(2)(D)). The relevant inquiry is whether the employee's statement was made within the scope of employment. See id. 43 Here, there is no question that Falco and Madden made the challenged statements within the scope of their employment. Both were department officials involved in personnel management, and the statements related to a possible personnel action against McDonough. See id. (concluding that statement by employee involved in the plaintiff's termination was admissible under Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(D)). The statements were properly admitted. 6
44 In addition to challenging the transfer and leave decisions, McDonough presented evidence that he was subject to adverse employment actions by being denied the use of a department car, by not having his supervisory responsibility restored after he was returned to the night shift, and by being denied the authority to sign court slips. After the close of the evidence, the district court directed a verdict for the City on these claims and only permitted the jury to consider the transfer and leave allegations. The City contends that the district court's charge did not adequately explain that McDonough's claim was limited to those allegations. We review this claim for abuse of discretion. See Sanchez-Lopez v. Fuentes-Pujols, 375 F.3d 121, 133 (1st Cir.2004). 45 The court's instructions were more than adequate to explain the nature of McDonough's claims. The court explained: 46 [T]his case [is] grounded in two incidents. One, the transfer of Mr. McDonough... from nights to days ... and later on a determination that he was to surrender his firearms and stay on administrative leave until he went to a psychiatrist and was certified for duty in that period of time. 47 Later, the court instructed that this case is about McDonough being taken from nights and placed on days and being placed on administrative leave. The instructions were more than sufficient to apprise the jury of the actionable theories.