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

Heading: Provident Documents

Text: 80 Defendants argue that some of the documents produced by Provident in another lawsuit were erroneously admitted because they were not properly authenticated and lacked a sufficient nexus to this case. Regarding authentication, witness Robert Parks certified that all the documents were produced by Provident and its affiliated companies which eventually became UnumProvident in response to a document production request. `Requiring the custodian to identify or authenticate the documents for admission in evidence merely makes explicit what is implicit in the production itself.' United States v. Blackman, 72 F.3d 1418, 1426 (9th Cir.1995) (quoting Braswell v. United States, 487 U.S. 99, 114-15, 108 S.Ct. 2284, 101 L.Ed.2d 98 (1988), which is quoting Curcio v. United States, 354 U.S. 118, 125, 77 S.Ct. 1145, 1 L.Ed.2d 1225 (1957)); see also FTC v. H.N. Singer, Inc., 668 F.2d 1107, 1114 (9th Cir.1982). Additionally, Defendants at trial conceded that the overwhelming majority of the documents relied upon at trial were business records of Provident, and Caliri testified to their genuineness. The documents were thus properly authenticated as business records exempt from the hearsay rule. See Fed.R.Evid. 803(6); 801(b). 81 The documents also had a sufficient nexus to Hangarter's claim. The documents confirmed that Provident's claims handling practices were adopted by Paul Revere after Provident merged with Unum in 1999 to form UnumProvident. See Exhibits 153/155 (stating that it was necessary to Bring Wooster [(Paul Revere headquarters)] reporting into conformance with Chattanooga [(Provident)] standards.). Additionally, Caliri testified that depositions of Provident employees demonstrated that the companies worked together to transition Provident's claims handling practices to Paul Revere. Finally, Caliri testified that Hangarter's claim went to a round table review on September 9, 1997 and that the adjuster handling her claim stated that the purpose of the review was to explore[] termination options, consistent with the alleged corporate policies of UnumProvident. 82 The court therefore did not abuse its discretion in allowing Hangarter to introduce documents produced by Provident in another lawsuit.