Opinion ID: 1744914
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Whether the circuit court abused its discretion in refusing to allow the Hartels to call Dr. Pruett adversely via an edited video deposition.

Text: ¶ 23. Counsel for the Hartels took a videotape deposition of Dr. Pruett on December 10, 2003. On June 13, 2005, the Hartels notified the defendants of their intention to play an edited version of the videotape deposition at trial instead of calling Dr. Pruett as an adverse witness. The circuit court denied the Hartels' motion. The Hartels assert that this ruling constitutes an abuse of discretion, claiming that Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 32(a)(2) permits a party to use the deposition of the opposing party as desired. ¶ 24. Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 32(a) states, in pertinent part, that: (a) At the trial or upon the hearing of a motion of an interlocutory proceeding, any part or all of a deposition, so far as admissible under the rules of evidence applied as though the witness were then present and testifying, may be used against any party who was present or represented at the taking of the deposition or who had reasonable notice thereof, in accordance with any of the following provisions: (1) Any deposition may be used by any party for the purpose of contradicting or impeaching the testimony of deponent as a witness, or for any other purpose permitted by the Mississippi Rules of Evidence. (2) The deposition of a party ... may be used by an adverse party for any purpose.... (4) If only part of a deposition is offered in evidence by a party, an adverse party may require him to introduce any other part which ought in fairness to be considered with the part introduced, and any party may introduce any other parts. Miss. R. Civ. P. 32(a). Mississippi Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2)(A) provides, in relevant part, that (d) [a] statement is not hearsay if: ... (2)[t]he statement is offered against a party and is (A) his own statement, in either his individual or a representative capacity.... Miss. R. Evid. 801(d)(2)(A). A party may enter portions of an opposing party's deposition into evidence without calling the opposing party as a witness, provided that the portions of the deposition are admissible under Rule 801. See McMillan v. King, 557 So.2d 519, 526 (Miss.1990). In McMillan, the trial court did not allow the plaintiff to enter portions of the deposition of the opposing party's employee. See id. at 525. This Court found the plaintiff should have been permitted to enter the proffered portions of [the deposition of the opposing party's employee] into evidence without calling [the opposing party's employee] as a witness. This is so even though [the opposing party's employee] was available to be called as a witness. Id. at 526. However, this Court further found that: the record discloses that [the testimony of the opposing party's employee] pertinent to McMillan's case was elicited from [the opposing party's employee] as an adverse witness. Where that testimony differed from [the deposition of the opposing party's employee], McMillan was freely allowed to impeach ... with the parts of the deposition McMillan wished [to] enter in evidence. Because McMillan got before the jury the points he had proffered via cross-examination of [the opposing party's employee], we hold the error legally harmless. Id. ¶ 25. Based upon McMillan, the circuit court erred in refusing to allow the Hartels to play the edited video deposition of Dr. Pruett. However, this error was legally harmless, id., because the Hartels were permitted to examine Dr. Pruett and then impeach him with his videotaped deposition statements on cross-examination, if inconsistent with his live testimony. Accordingly, this Court finds that this issue is without merit.