Opinion ID: 786763
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Stephen Rutledge Testimony

Text: 83 Defendants argue that the district court improperly excluded the testimony of Stephen Rutledge, who was to testify that both the percentage of monthly individual disability claims that Paul Revere paid and Paul Revere's total pay-outs for the individual disability line of insurance increased during the relevant time period. 84 Defendants' contention is unpersuasive. The district court rejected Rutledge's testimony because it related to all individual disability claims, and not to only own occupation disability claims. Hangarter's entire case was premised upon the theory that Defendants purposefully terminated her claim because it was a high cost, own occupation disability claim. An increase in disability payouts does little to disprove Hangarter's theory that Defendants intended to terminate claims such as Hangarter's. The district court therefore was within its discretion in excluding this evidence as irrelevant and prejudicial under Rules 402 and 403, particularly given its potential to confuse the jury. See McEuin v. Crown Equip. Corp., 328 F.3d 1028, 1034 (9th Cir.2003) (citing Longenecker v. Gen. Motors Corp., 594 F.2d 1283, 1286 (9th Cir.1979) ([T]rial judges are better able to sense the dynamics of a trial than we can ever be, and broad discretion must be accorded them in balancing probative value against prejudice.)).