Opinion ID: 1314471
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: the trial court should have admitted the preliminary title report.

Text: Large asserts that the trial court should have admitted the preliminary title report, including the page indicating that a copy had been sent to Cafferty. We agree. Cafferty objected to the admission of the preliminary title report, claiming that the indication a copy had been sent to Cafferty was hearsay and was not admissible under any of the exceptions to the hearsay rule. Large claimed the entire preliminary title report was within the business records exception to the hearsay rule. In objecting to admission of the preliminary title report, Cafferty argued that there was not a proper foundation for the title page of the preliminary title report to establish a basis for admission of the report under the business records exception to the hearsay rule. Cafferty based this objection on the fact that the witness testifying to the record keeping process at the title company was not the person who prepared the report or delivered the document. In sustaining the objection, the trial court, in essence, ruled that the document was admissible only if Large could get the original delivery clerk to testify regarding actual delivery of the document. This interpretation of I.R.E. 803(6) unduly narrows the business records exception. I.R.E. 803(6) does not require a foundation of testimony by the person who prepared the document in order to admit the document as a business record. The general requirement for admission under I.R.E. 803(6) is that the document be produced in the ordinary course of business, at or near the time of occurrence and not in anticipation of trial. Beco Corp. v. Roberts & Sons Const. Co., 114 Idaho 704, 711, 760 P.2d 1120, 1127 (1988). The comment to I.R.E. 803(6) points out: Because records of regularly conducted activity are not normally self proving, as public records may be under Rule 803(8), the testimony of the custodian or other person who can explain the record keeping of the organization is ordinarily essential. The custodian need not have personal knowledge of the actual creation of the document nor need [the custodian] have been an employee of the business when the record was made. The test is whether [the custodian] has knowledge of the system used to make the record and not whether [the custodian] has knowledge of contents of the record. Report of the Idaho State Bar Evidence Committee, C 803, p. 10 (4th Supp.1985). The escrow officer who closed the transaction for the title company testified regarding the title company's usual practices for preparing preliminary title reports. This escrow officer also testified regarding the title company's practices in addressing and hand delivering the title reports to the real estate agents involved in the transaction. This was sufficient foundation for admission of the preliminary title report pursuant to I.R.E. 803(6). Large was prejudiced by the exclusion of the report because the jury was not allowed to see the format of the report and consider whether this raised a reasonable inference that the report was delivered to Cafferty.