Opinion ID: 563774
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The License Suspension.

Text: 27 On the issue of whether EWM Co. had reason to suspect that Mongillo might exceed his express authority as an agent, the magistrate permitted evidence that Mongillo's license had been suspended by the Connecticut Division of Insurance for sixty days in 1979. Over the plaintiffs' objections, however, he excluded many of the particulars of the event, e.g., facts showing that the 1979 suspension arose out of an incident in which Mongillo tried to deliver a forged bond. The court allowed evidence that EWM knew of the suspension, but refused to allow evidence that the firm paid a portion of the administrative fine. FRG contends that the excluded evidence should have been admitted under Evidence Rule 404(b) to show that EWM had ratified a forgery in the past, thus suggesting either an agency relationship in respect to the Western Surety bond or a likelihood that EWM Co. would ratify the Veranda Beach transaction. 28 Determining the admissibility of evidence under Rule 404(b) engages a two step analysis. 4 First, the trial court must ascertain whether the evidence has a special relevance in that it is offered not to show a defendant's evil inclination but rather to establish some material fact. See Hadfield, 918 F.2d at 994; United States v. Devin, 918 F.2d 280, 286 (1st Cir.1990). If the trial court finds sufficient relevance, the next step requires that it gauge probative weight against prejudicial effect pursuant to Fed.R.Evid. 403. See, e.g., Devin, 918 F.2d at 286. If the evidence brings unwanted baggage, say, unfair prejudice or a cognizable risk of confusing the jury, and if the baggage's weight substantially overbalances any probative value, then the evidence must be excluded. United States v. Rodriguez-Estrada, 877 F.2d 153, 155 (1st Cir.1989). 29 The lower court excluded the proffered facts on the ground that they were unduly cumulative and, therefore, failed to satisfy the second prong of the test. Its statements also suggested, however, that the evidence lacked the necessary relevance to satisfy the first prong. Either way, we believe that the rulings were within the ambit of the trier's sound discretion. Given what had already been admitted, the facts in question would not have helped in any significant measure to establish the existence of an agency relationship in 1983-1984. 30 For example, to establish apparent authority, the plaintiffs had to show that EWM did something that caused them to believe that Mongillo was its authorized agent. See Sheinkopf v. Stone, 927 F.2d 1259, 1269 (1st Cir.1991). This evidence would not have helped. There was no proof that, at the time the plaintiffs dealt with Mongillo, they knew of EWM's purported ratification of Mongillo's prior malfeasance. There was likewise no proof that plaintiffs relied on any such show of support to conclude that the firm would stand behind Mongillo in the Veranda Beach matter, come what might. Nothing in the excluded evidence would have filled these gaps. 31 By the same token, to establish vicarious liability, it had to be shown that, with respect to the transaction in question, Mongillo was acting within the scope of his employment, meaning under Massachusetts law that he was motivated, at least in part, by a goal of serving his employer's interests. See Wang Laboratories, Inc. v. Business Incentives, Inc., 398 Mass. 854, 501 N.E.2d 1163, 1166 (1986). The excluded evidence provided no insight into any motivation on Mongillo's part to benefit EWM through the Veranda Beach deal; indeed, nothing in the excluded facts indicated that Mongillo, when he misbehaved in the 1970s, did so with the intention of enriching EWM. 32 In the federal system, a trial court has appreciable flexibility in admitting or excluding evidence on relevancy grounds. See United States v. Nazzaro, 889 F.2d 1158, 1168 (1st Cir.1989); Freeman, 865 F.2d at 1339. Under the circumstances of this case, the court's decision not to allow evidence of the subsidiary facts underlying the 1979 suspension cannot be faulted. 33