Opinion ID: 161717
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Other References to Tractor Rollovers

Text: 24 Besides the testimony of Sevart, there were many other references to tractor rollover accidents throughout the course of the trial. At trial, however, Defendants did not object to the references of other tractor rollover accidents based on a lack of substantial similarity. The only time Defendants raised that particular objection was in their pre-trial motion in limine, which the district court treated as a specific objection to the videotape deposition of Sevart. As a consequence, this court must first decide if Defendants' motion in limine preserved the issue for appeal. 25 [M]ost objections [made pursuant to a motion in limine] will prove to be dependent on trial context and will be determined to be waived if not renewed at trial. United States v. Mejia-Alarcon, 995 F.2d 982, 988 (10th Cir. 1993). This court has cautioned that [p]rudent counsel will renew objections at trial. Id. Nevertheless, a pretrial motion in limine may preserve an objection if the following three factors are met: (1) the issue was fairly presented to the district court; (2) the issue is the type that can be finally decided in a pretrial hearing; and (3) the issue was unequivocally decided by the trial judge. See id. at 986. 26 Defendants' motion in limine and supporting brief were remarkably cursory, non-specific, and conclusory, containing just over one page dedicated generally to the substantial similarity standard. This district court filing did not specify the evidence it sought to be excluded, nor did it explain how the circumstances surrounding the other accidents differed from those surrounding Black's accident. Turning as it does on the substantially similar test, this motion in limine challenging all evidence of other accidents would have difficulty qualifying under the Mejia-Alarcon test as one fairly presenting the issue and of the type which could be finally resolved before trial in the absence of challenges to specific evidence. Such a motion does not enable the proponent of the evidence to lay a foundation for substantially similar circumstances. Moreover, this non-specific pretrial motion in limine did not account for trial context, the character of the evidence, or the theory upon which the plaintiff offered the evidence. See Mejia-Alarcon, 995 F.2d at 987 (stating that fact-bound determinations dependent upon the character of the evidence introduced at trial are not issues that can be finally decided at a pretrial hearing); Wheeler, 862 F.2d at 1407, 1407-08 (stating that [w]hether accidents are substantially similar depends largely upon the theory of the case and that the purpose for which the evidence is offered at trial affects the degree of similarity required). 27 Finally, even assuming the issue was fairly presented and could have been finally decided prior to trial, the district court treated Defendants' motion in limine merely as a specific objection to the videotape deposition of Sevart. At the January 12th hearing on the pending motions in limine, the district judge stated as follows: The other portion of this motion regards dissimilar accidents or statistics. In this case, I have the benefit of [Sevart's] testimony since he is going to appear by deposition and he can't change what he's already said. I agree that this testimony is permissible to show notice. Although the district court later stated that Defendants' motion is denied in its entirety, this court cannot say that Defendants' attempt to have all evidence of other accidents excluded was ruled upon without equivocation by the trial judge, the third factor in the Mejia-Alarcon test. See 995 F.2d at 986. Rather, the trial court treated Defendants' motion as a specific objection to Sevart's testimony. See supra subsection III(A)(1) (affirming the district court's decision allowing Sevart's testimony concerning other accidents). 28 This court thus concludes that Defendants' motion in limine did not preserve their objection to the various references at trial, aside from the testimony of Sevart, to other tractor rollover accidents. This court has noted in a slightly different context that 29 a trial court does not have the luxury of examining the entire record in an effort to determine whether it can stitch together from various objections made at different points in the trial a particular ground for an objection to the admission of evidence: even if it could do so, such an approach would deprive opposing counsel of the opportunity to take corrective action and would only contribute to chaos in the trial process. 30 Fenstermacher v. Telelect, Inc., No. 92-3283, 1994 WL 118046, at  (10th Cir. Mar. 28, 1994) (unpublished disposition). It was Defendants' responsibility to object as specific pieces of evidence were offered, not the trial court's duty to sua sponte monitor the Plaintiff's evidence. Pretrial motions in limine can be helpful to the trial court and appropriate trial strategy. They are not, however, substitutes for trial objections to specific proffered evidence. 31 As Defendants did not properly object to the testimony concerning other tractor rollovers, this court reviews the admission of the evidence only for plain error resulting in manifest injustice. United States v. Taylor, 800 F.2d 1012, 1017 (10th Cir. 1986). Because Defendants illustrated through cross examination the differences between the testimony concerning the other accidents and Black's accident, there was not a plain error resulting in manifest injustice. See Macsenti v. Becker, 237 F.3d 1223, 1231 (10th Cir. 2001) (finding no plain error in admission of expert testimony and noting that Appellant cross-examined the expert).