Opinion ID: 1279862
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Computer Animation

Text: A computer animation is admissible if it is: 1) authentic under Rule 901, SCRE; 2) relevant under Rules 401 and 402, SCRE; 3) a fair and accurate representation of the evidence; and 4) more probative than prejudicial under Rule 403, SCRE. Clark v. Cantrell, 339 S.C. 369, 529 S.E.2d 528 (2000). When an animation is admitted, the trial court is to give a cautionary instruction that the video represents only a recreation of one party's version of events, and may call attention to any assumptions upon which the recreation is based. Id. The trial court has broad discretion in determining whether to admit an animation, and its decision will be reversed on appeal only for an abuse of that discretion. Id. CSX argues the trial court erred in admitting Plaintiff's computer animation of the accident because that animation did not fairly and accurately convey the accident and the accident scene. We disagree. Specifically, CSX complains because the animation shows the car stopped for only 4.8 seconds while the victim said she stopped for ten seconds, and because the vegetation is enhanced in the video. CSX has not shown an abuse of discretion. As for the vegetation, the jury heard testimony from several individuals about the vegetation at the crossing on the day of the accident and had a video from a rescue worker at the scene, and one taken by the Plaintiff the next day presented for comparison purposes. As for the length of the stop, the discrepancy was extensively explored before the jury. We find no abuse of discretion in the admission of this animation. Clark v. Cantrell, supra .
Plaintiff was permitted to introduce a compilation of approximately 200 notices of deficiency received by CSX from the South Carolina Department of Transportation over the period between 1995 and 2002. It is unclear at what point or on what ground the trial court admitted this exhibit. It is the appellant's burden to present a sufficient record for appellate review. State v. 192 Coin-Operated Video Game Machines, 338 S.C. 176, 525 S.E.2d 872 (2000). CSX has not met this burden with regard to the compilation, although we note these records would be relevant, if at all, only to punitive damages. CSX also complains that Plaintiff's traffic engineering expert was erroneously permitted to testify in detail to two other lawsuits involving accidents at CSX crossings in South Carolina where the allegations were that sight lines were obstructed. CSX argued at trial these accident settings were too dissimilar to be probative. Plaintiff countered that evidence of the other crossing accidents was admissible on the issue of punitive damages. It appears from the record that extensive evidence of these accidents was admitted without any instruction limiting the jury to considering them in the context of punitive damages. The trial judge erred in admitting evidence of other accidents at other crossings to prove this accident occurred as the result of CSX's negligence. The evidence may be admissible at a subsequent trial in aid of Plaintiff's punitive damages claim.
CSX objected to the admission of a National Transportation Safety Board report made to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on the grounds of relevance. Prior to that objection, CSX had permitted Plaintiff's expert to testify using the report for several pages without objection. Further, there was no contemporaneous objection to Plaintiff's reference to the report in its opening statement. CSX, by its untimely objection, waived its right to complain about this issue in this appeal. Taylor v. Medenica, 324 S.C. 200, 479 S.E.2d 35 (1996).
CSX also argues the court erred in admitting a FRA report dated February 1998 because this report, while directed to CSX, did not address crossing maintenance. We agree with CSX that this evidence was not relevant to liability. We express no opinion on the extent it may be relevant to punitive damages under the standards announced in Campbell.