Opinion ID: 1654936
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Lost Employees

Text: While it is true that Integrity could not have competed for Oxford's patients without Copeland's certificate, the same is not true as to the hiring of Oxford's employees. Integrity was free to hire any of Oxford's employees as it was forming its business and taking steps towards entering the home health market irrespective of Copeland's employment or her certificate of provider certification training. As such, to be entitled to damages, Oxford must prove that individual employees left Oxford and joined Integrity as a result of Copeland's efforts. The trial judge specifically held that Oxford failed to make such a showing. At trial, Oxford's vice-president of support services, Richard McGee, testified about its damages. McGee presented three spreadsheets purportedly summarizing the employees lost to Integrity during the time that Integrity relied on Copeland's certificate of provider certification training and the associated costs of recruiting and training those employees. When questioned as to the source of the information in the spreadsheets, McGee acknowledged that it was not necessarily all based on first-hand knowledge. McGee conceded that Oxford put two and two together when clients that had been serviced by a resigning employee called and requested that their services be switched to Integrity. McGee testified that the information in the spreadsheets was all noted somewhere in Oxford's business records, but conceded that he did not necessarily get all of the information contained in the spreadsheets from such business records. Copeland's counsel objected to the introduction of the spreadsheets on the basis that the exhibits lacked foundation, were based upon hearsay, and called for speculation and conjecture. The judge admitted the exhibits, but acknowledged that he would consider the objections in assessing the weight of the evidence. A number of foundational requirements must be met before a document may be received into evidence, including relevancy, authentication, the best evidence rule, and hearsay. Ozark Appraisal Service, Inc., v. Neale, 67 S.W.3d 759, 766 (Mo.App.2002). The purpose of the hearsay rule is to ensure documents admitted into evidence are trustworthy. Id. The determination of whether a sufficient foundation was laid for admission of the evidence is within the sound discretion of the trial court. In the Estate of West v. Moffatt, 32 S.W.3d 648, 653 (Mo.App. 2000). In Missouri, the business records exception to the hearsay rule is established by statute. Section 490.680 states: A record of an act, condition or event, shall, insofar as relevant, be competent evidence if the custodian or other qualified witness testifies to its identity and the mode of its preparation, and if it was made in the regular course of business, at or near the time of the act, condition or event, and if, in the opinion of the court, the sources or information, method and time of preparation were such as to justify its admission. A summary of voluminous records is admissible in evidence provided that the competency of the underlying records is first established and such records are made available to the opposite party for cross-examination purposes. Ozark Appraisal, 67 S.W.3d at 766. Oxford's exhibits illustrating employees lost to Integrity during the time it relied on Copeland's certificate were purportedly summaries of data compiled from various business records. There is no indication in the record that any of the underlying business records that Oxford's exhibits were based upon were introduced into evidence or made available to Copeland. By ultimately holding that the damages claim was speculative, the trial judge determined either that the exhibits were not properly before the court as hearsay or were simply not convincing. The trial court's determination that the damages as to lost employees were speculative was not against the weight of the evidence. See Murphy, 536 S.W.2d at 32. Furthermore, the trier of facts has the right to disbelieve evidence, even when it is not contradicted. See State ex rel. Missouri Gas & Electric Service Company v. Trimble, 307 Mo. 536, 271 S.W. 43, 47 (1925).