Opinion ID: 3015153
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Forrest’s Lawsuit

Text: Forrest sued Beloit, advancing theories of strict liability and negligence under Pennsylvania law. Two of Forrest’s pretrial motions in limine relate to issues presented in this appeal. Forrest’s first motion in limine sought to exclude references at trial to (1) alleged negligence on the part of Jefferson-Smurfit; (2) Jefferson-Smurfit’s alleged violations of or non-compliance with OSHA standards and regulations; and (3) any OSHA investigations, proceedings, findings, reports or adjudications. Forrest’s second motion in limine sought to exclude all references at trial to the alleged absence of prior accidents involving Beloit’s Gloss Calender machines, including the Gloss Calender on which Forrest suffered his injuries. Forrest argued that Beloit had failed to establish an adequate foundation for the admissibility of such evidence, given that Beloit’s witnesses admitted during deposition testimony that they were unaware of any databases or incident logs used by Beloit to track whether users of the Gloss Calender or other similar Beloit machines suffered injuries in circumstances similar to those surrounding Forrest’s accident. Beloit responded by arguing that evidence reflecting the absence of 8 prior accidents involving the Gloss Calender was admissible on the contested issue of causation. Beloit also asserted that it would first lay an adequate foundation as required under the Federal Rules of Evidence before introducing such testimony. The District Court denied Forrest’s motions in limine, while preserving Forrest’s right to raise his evidentiary objections in context at trial.2