Opinion ID: 1591333
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Evidence of the Tortfeasor's Intoxication.

Text: Pexa claimed at trial that after the 1999 collision, he suffered from a fear of being involved in another accident with an intoxicated driver. He asserted evidence of the tortfeasor's intoxication was relevant to this damage claim. On appeal, he also claims the district court's exclusion of this evidence was contrary to this court's holding in Waits. In Waits, we held evidence of how the accident happened was relevant on the question of whether the plaintiff was injured in the accident, as well as the nature and extent of any such injuries. 572 N.W.2d at 575. The trial court excluded any evidence of the tortfeasor's intoxication, concluding this fact was not relevant to the injuries suffered by [the] plaintiff and any probative value of this evidence was outweighed by its prejudicial effect. The court specifically informed the plaintiff, however, that its ruling would not preclude evidence that the plaintiff suffered from a fear of being involved in another automobile accident. We review this ruling for an abuse of discretion. Spahr, 617 N.W.2d at 917. As noted above, relevant evidence may be excluded when its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. See Iowa R. Evid. 5.403. We do not think the trial court abused its discretion in making that judgment call here. Contrary to Pexa's argument on appeal, the tortfeasor's intoxication is not probative of the nature and extent of Pexa's injuries. The tortfeasor's intoxication was only marginally relevant at best to the plaintiff's claim that he feared involvement in another accident. On the other hand, this type of evidence would tend to influence a jury to increase its award of compensatory damages out of sympathy for the victim of such irresponsible conduct or to punish the drunk driver. See Weinstein's Federal Evidence § 403.04[1][c], at 403-43, 403-46 (stating examples of unfairly prejudicial evidence include evidence that appeals to the jury's sympathies or provokes a jury's instinct to punish). Therefore, the trial court properly exercised its discretion in prohibiting evidence of the tortfeasor's intoxication.