Opinion ID: 2428959
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Admission of Hearsay Documents

Text: At issue here is the admissibility of two sets of documents, a computer printout from J.A. Riggs Tractor Company and registration certificates from the Department of Finance and Administration (DF & A). WBF argues these two sets of documents are hearsay and not admissible under the business records exception or public records exception. Specifically, WBF contends the computer printout lacked a proper foundation in that no one at J.A. Riggs Tractor Company actually made the record. In other words, the information on the printout was entered by someone who worked for a business other than J.A. Riggs Tractor Company, and no one from that other company testified as to the accuracy and reliability of the information in the printout. WBF contends the DF & A registration certificates should not have been admitted under the public records exception because there is no law requiring the registration certificates to contain the odometer reading. The service manager at J.A. Riggs Tractor Company testified their computer is part of a system wherein all Caterpillar warranty repairs and service program repairs are entered when made across the country. He acknowledged there was room for error in the entry of information into the computer, but also stated the information contained in the computer system was reliable enough for him to make the decision not to do any service program repairs on Smith's truck because of the mileage discrepancy and because the same repairs had already been made. An employee from the Bald Knob DF & A office testified there was no written policy requiring them to put odometer readings on registration certificates, but that she was trained to do so, that it was the policy in her office to do so, and that she had followed that policy since she began work for DF & A in 1976. She also stated she followed that policy when she registered the truck in question in July 1986 and recorded the mileage at 31,022. Rulings on evidentiary matters are within the trial court's discretion. In re Estate of O'Donnell, 304 Ark. 460, 803 S.W.2d 530 (1991). Considering the foregoing testimonies and the foundations laid therein, we cannot say the trial court abused its discretion in admitting the questioned documents.