Opinion ID: 1953696
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Heading: Admission of Correspondence Written By Parties' Attorneys.

Text: The district court admitted into evidence twelve letters written by the parties' attorneys between June 8, 1993, and August 18, 1993. Autorama contends that the letters are inadmissible under Iowa Rule of Evidence 408. Rule 408 requires the exclusion of evidence of settlement negotiations offered solely to prove or disprove liability or damages. Iowa R.Evid. 408. Evidence of offers to compromise is admissible, however, if offered for another purpose. Id.; accord Bremicker v. MCI Telecommunications Corp., 420 N.W.2d 427, 428 (Iowa 1988) (evidence admissible on issue of attorney fees); Miller v. Component Homes, Inc., 356 N.W.2d 213, 215 (Iowa 1984) (evidence admissible to show employer's intentional rather than inadvertent failure to pay). The Hylers argue the letters in question are not excluded by rule 408 because either they are not offers of compromise or they are admissible for some other appropriate purpose. We agree. Without unduly lengthening this opinion, we merely state that several of the letters contain no offers to compromise or any other discussion of settlement. The remaining letters were relevant to whether there was a mutual rescission of the purchase agreement, whether the Hylers tendered the motor home to Autorama, whether Autorama assumed the manufacturer's written and implied warranties and whether the Hylers should be awarded attorney fees under the Magnuson-Moss Act.