Court Opinion

ID: 9449592
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 16:16:27.874227+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:31:54.004895
License: Public Domain

On Petition for Rehearing.
Before ORR, MERRILL and DUNIWAY, Circuit Judges.
DUNIWAY, Circuit Judge.
In his petition for rehearing appellant argues that we have gone too far in that portion of our opinion in which we held that the District Court could properly consider and rely upon the evidence that was offered before the referee and excluded by him, but was recorded pursuant to rule 43(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. We think that in this appellant is correct.
 We do not think that, where a ruling has been made excluding evidence, the party who succeeded in obtaining the ruling is obligated, when his opponent’s witnesses are then permitted to testify under rule 43(c), either to cross-examine or to offer contradicting evidence if he has any, unless the court directs that he do so. We do not think that rule 43(c) requires a full-scale trial as to the excluded matter; rather, its purpose is to afford a substitute for an offer of proof stated by counsel. Its use will often give the reviewing court a better basis on which to decide whether the ruling excluding the evidence was correct. It may be that in an appropriate case the court may require the other party to cross-examine and to offer conflicting evidence, if he has any, so as to make the record complete. In such a case, the court could make findings for the benefit of the reviewing court. This could avoid the time and expense of a new trial, if the ruling excluding evidence were held to be erroneous. But, we do not think that these things are required in every instance where the rule is used, or that a party loses rights by failing to cross-examine or offer evidence when not directed to do so. This could make rule 43(c) a trap for counsel; it is so great a departure from usual trial practice that we think we should not read it into the rule.
The reviewing court, whether the trial court or this court, must consider the record made under rule 43(c) in order to determine whether the evidence should have been received, but we do not think that it should accept the evidence as establishing the facts that it is offered to prove, except where there has been a trial of that issue and a resolution of it by the trier of fact. Here, since we have determined that the applicability of the language in paragraph 2, set out in our prior opinion, depends upon the excluded evidence, and that such evidence, if accepted, would preclude the application of that paragraph, we think that the appellant should have an opportunity to meet that evidence if he can.
The order of the District Court is vacated and the matter is remanded to that court for further proceedings consistent with our prior opinion as modified by this opinion. The petition for rehearing is denied.