Opinion ID: 884168
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: issues

Text: Did the District Court err when it denied admission of several items of evidence offered by the plaintiffs? We review a district court's evidentiary rulings to determine whether the district court abused its discretion. Busta, 276 Mont. at 353, 916 P.2d at 128; Galbreath v. Golden Sunlight Mines, Inc. (1995), 270 Mont. 19, 22, 890 P.2d 382, 384. First, the plaintiffs sought to introduce a video of their expert witness conducting an experiment with wires to demonstrate evidence of arcing, and then again to rebut testimony from the Glacier Electric expert. Wire arcing generally involves a small flow of electricity between two wires, which, although usually not capable of blowing a circuit breaker, is able to create intense heat of up to 4000 degrees Fahrenheit. Plaintiffs alleged that the fire occurred after the wires in the house had been damaged and then arced. Based on the plaintiffs' failure to establish an adequate foundation for the video, the District Court refused to allow its use. Plaintiffs contend that arcing was a legitimate issue at trial and, as such, that they should have been allowed to present the video demonstration for the jury's understanding. However, Glacier Electric alleged and the plaintiffs did not deny that the conditions of the arcing experiment in the video differed significantly from the conditions at the Harwood home. We have held that to provide a proper foundation for demonstrative evidence of an experiment, the offering party must establish that the experiment was conducted insubstantially similar conditions to the conditions at the time of the original occurrence. See Richardson v. Farmers Union Oil Co. (1957), 131 Mont. 535, 548, 312 P.2d 134, 142. See also Barmeyer v. Montana Power Co. (1983), 202 Mont. 185, 194-95, 657 P.2d 594, 599; Bernhard v. Lincoln County (1968), 150 Mont. 557, 561, 437 P.2d 377, 380. Moreover, the admissibility of evidence of an experiment depends on whether it would assist the jury to more intelligently consider the issue. See Barmeyer, 202 Mont. at 194-95, 657 P.2d at 599. Here, we hold that the District Court did not abuse its discretion when it found that the conditions in the experiment were not similar enough to establish a foundation for the video, and when, based upon the substantial expert testimony already presented, it found that the jury had heard sufficient testimony to understand the concept of arcing and did not need a further demonstration. Second, the plaintiffs also sought to submit as an exhibit asbestos shingles from the Harwood home. An investigator for the plaintiffs testified that he had retrieved the shingles from inside the home's foundation after the fire. The record reveals that although all the shingles on the home were of the same material, the shingles which the plaintiffs offered as evidence had been cracked, broken apart, and pieced together again by the investigator. Glacier Electric objected to admission of the shingles as an exhibit, but stipulated to their use as demonstrative evidence. The District Court admitted them for that purpose. The plaintiffs contend that the District Court should have admitted the shingles unconditionally because they were relevant to demonstrate that the wires may have been damaged by the sharp shingles and, therefore, been made more likely to arc. The record reflects that the plaintiffs could not show that the shingles which they sought to admit were in fact the shingles that surrounded the area where the wires entered the home. Therefore, it was not an abuse of discretion for the District Court to conclude that the shingles offered were not in the same condition as those shingles which the wires may have actually contacted. As demonstrative evidence, the shingles still permitted the plaintiffs to provide the jury with an understanding of the shingles' texture and their potential for damaging the wires, without the risk of suggesting that the shingles at issue were in the identical condition. Accordingly, we conclude that the District Court did not abuse its discretion when it limited the shingles' use as demonstrative evidence.