Opinion ID: 166830
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Legal standards for admissibility

Text: 35 At the summary judgment stage, the parties need not submit evidence in a form admissible at trial; however, the content or the substance of the evidence must be admissible. Hardy v. S.F. Phosphates Ltd., 185 F.3d 1076, 1082 n. 5 (10th Cir.1999). For instance, a witness to a car accident could not submit his testimony at trial via affidavit because that statement would be hearsay. However, at the summary judgment stage, the affidavit is proper because its content—the eyewitness account of the affiant—is admissible. 36 Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e) further governs the admissibility of affidavits at the summary judgment stage: 37 Supporting and opposing affidavits shall be made on personal knowledge, shall set forth such facts as would be admissible in evidence, and shall show affirmatively that the affiant is competent to testify to the matters stated therein. Sworn or certified copies of all papers ... referred to in an affidavit shall be attached thereto or served therewith. 38 Thus, it is clear that (1) the content of summary judgment evidence must be generally admissible and (2) if that evidence is presented in the form of an affidavit, the Rules of Civil Procedure specifically require a certain type of admissibility, i.e., the evidence must be based on personal knowledge. 39 A summary judgment affidavit may not contain expert testimony unless the affiant has first been designated an expert witness under Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a)(2). Parker v. Cent. Kan. Med. Ctr., 178 F.Supp.2d 1205, 1210 (D.Kan.2001), aff'd, 57 Fed.Appx. 401, 404 (10th Cir.2003). Otherwise, any non-expert testimony in the form of opinions or inferences must be (a) rationally based on the perception of the witness, (b) helpful to a clear understanding of the witness's testimony or the determination of the fact in issue, and (c) not based on scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge. Fed.R.Evid. 701.