Opinion ID: 2316673
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Exclusion of Testimony from Motorist

Text: Plaintiff further contends that the trial court erred in excluding testimony from a motorist who would have testified about her inability to see a train in the Chester crossing during a rain storm a month or two before decedent's accident. According to the plaintiff, this evidence was relevant to establish that a dangerous condition existed because the reflectors on the sides of the freight cars were insufficient to enable motorists to see the train in poor weather. Evidence is relevant if it has any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more or less probable than it would be without the evidence. M.R.Evid. 401. We review the trial court's ruling on the issue of relevancy for clear error. State v. Dechaine, 572 A.2d 130, 133 (Me. 1990). Even though evidence is relevant, it may be excluded by the trial court pursuant to M.R.Evid. 403 if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence. The trial court's decision to exclude evidence under M.R.Evid. 403 is reviewable only for an abuse of discretion. State v. Tanguay, 574 A.2d 1359, 1360 (Me.1990). In a negligence action, evidence of other occurrences may be relevant to show the existence of a defective or dangerous condition, notice thereof or causation on the occasion in question. Marois v. Paper Converting Machine Co., 539 A.2d 621, 625 (Me.1988). Thus, the motorist's testimony was relevant. The trial court was concerned, however, that the motorist's testimony would unfairly arouse an emotional reaction from the jury because she would have told the jury she was driving in a car with four children and a friend. Because the visibility of the train on a night other than the night of the accident is only of tangential consequence to the matter at issue here, the trial court correctly concluded that the probative value of the motorist's testimony was substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the evidence pursuant to M.R.Evid. 403.