Opinion ID: 1119219
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Test Performed by Yukon

Text: Shortly before trial, Rohloff (Yukon's mechanic), Sundborg (Yukon's expert mechanic) and Yukon's attorney conducted experiments on the brake system of the same crane involved in Gordon's accident. Drott attempted to introduce evidence of the experiments at trial. The trial court determined that the evidence was relevant, but that it was inadmissible because it was cumulative. Drott argues that the evidence should have been admitted. The purpose of the proffered testimony was not to have the jury draw conclusions about the particular crane, but to show the capabilities of Drott 250 cranes in general. According to Drott, the results of the experiments showed that the brake system, if properly maintained, was not defective. Drott argues that having an adverse party perform the tests merely made the results dramatic and probative. Alaska Rule of Evidence 403 provides: Although relevant, evidence may be excluded if its probative value is outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence. As Gordon argues, there was a danger of unfair prejudice from the brake test evidence because the testing procedure was slipshod and no written records were kept. Because the tests were performed on the same crane that was involved in Gordon's accident, there was also a danger that the issues would be confused, or the jury would be misled by the test results. Further, as the trial court found, the evidence was cumulative. In light of these considerations, we hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in deciding that the probative value of Yukon's experiment results was outweighed by the possibility of resulting jury prejudice and undue trial delay. The judgment below is AFFIRMED.