Court Opinion

ID: 9797526
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 04:23:02.782019+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:57:04.774645
License: Public Domain

VOSS, Judge,
dissenting.
¶ 26 I respectfully dissent. In my opinion, the trial court abused its discretion in allowing the state to impeach Hernandez with statements made in the notice of claim.
¶ 27 To settle his claim against the state, Hernandez was required to file a notice of claim. A.R.S. § 12-821.01(A) (Supp.2000). Such a notice of claim must contain “a specific amount for which the claim can be settled and the facts supporting that amount.” Id. Our cases have repeatedly held that filing of a notice of claim serves both notice and settlement purposes. State v. Brooks, 23 Ariz.App. 463, 466, 534 P.2d 271, 274 (1975); Andress v. City of Chandler, 198 Ariz. 112, 114, ¶ 10, 7 P.3d 121, 123 (App.2000); Hollingsworth v. City of Phoenix, 164 Ariz. 462, 464, 793 P.2d 1129, 1131 (App.1990).
¶28 Rule 408 of the Arizona Rules of Evidence prohibits the admissibility of statements made in offering to settle a disputed claim, and that includes any admissions made in furtherance of such offers to compromise. State ex rel. Miller v. Superior Court (Stephens), 189 Ariz. 228, 234, 941 P.2d 240, 246 (App.1997); Smith v. Saxon, 186 Ariz. 70, 74 n. 3, 918 P.2d 1088, 1092 n. 3 (App.1996). Because one of the purposes of filing a notice of claim is settlement, the contents of such notice should be inadmissible under Rule 408. Moreover, the statements made in the notice of claim should not constitute an admission against Hernandez for the same reason that an admission made in a disclosure statement filed under Rule 26.1 of the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure does not — the purpose of the statements are simply to give the other party notice of the claims made, not to cast the contents of those claims in stone. See Clark Equip. Co. v. Ariz. Prop. and Cas. Ins. Guaranty Fund, 189 Ariz. 433, 440, 943 P.2d 793, 800 (App.1997).
¶ 29 The majority first claims that Rule 408 is inapplicable because a notice of claim, like a complaint, merely initiates the claim process and does not constitute an attempt to compromise a claim that is “disputed.” The majority reasons that in the notice of claim situation, there is no dispute yet because the government may agree that it is liable in response to the notice of claim. The majority’s distinction that supposedly removes the notice of claim in this case from the ambit of Rule 408 is mistaken. A demand letter from an attorney making a pre-litigation offer of settlement likewise may be the first notification the receiving party has of a potential claim. And the receiving party may decide to meet the demands of such an offer. Yet, no one can argue that such a letter would be inadmissible in any subsequent litigation under Rule 408. Indeed, one of the cases cited by the majority, Bates v. Estes Co., 125 Ariz. 327, 609 P.2d 597 (App.1980), illustrates this very point. In Bates, the pre-litigation demand letter of the purchasers’ attorney was found inadmissible in a subsequent suit by the purchasers to enforce a real estate purchase contract. Id. at 328, 609 P.2d at 598. The result should be no different here, particularly when the notice of claim is a prelitigation offer to compromise that is statutorily required to be filed.
¶ 30 The majority also claims that Rule 408 does not apply here because the statements made in the notice of claim were not admitted to dispute the validity or amount of the claim but rather to impeach Hernandez and *343that evidence impeaching a witness is “always relevant.” This claim is erroneous first because Hernandez’s recollection of the facts preceding his fall, as set forth by his lawyer in the notice of claim, is irrelevant. In the Joint Pretrial Statement, the state stipulated to the facts surrounding Hernandez’s fall; that is, that while proceeding in an area that had no path or trail, he stepped off a retaining wall and fell. The issue to be tried in the case thus was whether the state was required to place notices at the retaining wall warning of its dangers, not whether Hernandez or his lawyers correctly recalled the facts surrounding his fall. See State v. Munguia, 137 Ariz. 69, 71, 668 P.2d 912, 914 (App.1983) (a party is not allowed to impeach a witness on specific events that are not relevant to the issues at trial).
¶31 More importantly, statements contained in the notice of claim were not properly admitted in evidence to impeach Hernandez because they were not even his statements. As Hernandez testified, he had never before seen the statements made in the notice of claim, did not verify them, review them, or approve them. These statements were not the “prior inconsistent statements” of Hernandez at all and thus, were not relevant to impeach his truth or veracity.
¶32 Finally, contrary to the majority’s contention, the admission of the statements in the notice of claim clearly prejudiced Hernandez. In cross-examination and closing argument, the state used the discrepancies between the description of the fall in the notice of claim and Hernandez’s trial testimony (which was fully consistent with the stipulated facts) to paint Hernandez as confused, irresponsible, and lacking in common sense. The state then proceeded to attack his lawyers as both incompetent and dishonest:
Now, I’m not really sure that we know exactly what Mr. Hernandez did that night. That’s a story that he told in court, but there was a Notice of Claim which began this lawsuit process and in which the plaintiff and his lawyer, the very same lawyers who prepared this Notice of Claim, are attempting to run from. It’s Exhibit Number 40. And in that Notice of Claim, signed by his lawyers, the very same lawyers, the very same law firm who is sitting next to him today and saying believe what we say, now they want to say don’t believe what we said.
The great emphasis placed upon this evidence by the state both during the cross-examination of Hernandez and during closing argument compels me to conclude that the jury most likely drew the desired, but improper, inference.
¶ 33 Rule 408 was adopted to promote the public policy favoring the compromise and settlement of disputes and to facilitate free communication with respect to such compromise. Fed.R.Evid. 408 advisory committee notes. The use of the statements made in the notice of claim sanctioned by the majority here frustrates those purposes and has the potential to eviscerate the rule. The state claims that, because the filing of a notice of claim is mandatory, allowing the contents of such notice to be admitted in evidence would not discourage plaintiffs from filing future notices. However, the fact that a document is statutorily required to be filed does not bring its contents outside the purview of Rule 408. See State ex rel. Miller, 189 Ariz. at 232-34, 941 P.2d at 244-46. Moreover, the state’s argument misses the point. Plaintiffs will still file the required forms but there will be a chilling effect on what they say. The inevitable result of making statements in notices of claim admissible will be exactly what Rule 408 was designed to prevent — those submitting the statements will be less forthcoming in the details of what happened with a corresponding adverse effect on compromise negotiations.
¶ 34 Because the admission of these statements was intended to, and did prejudice Hernandez, I would reverse and remand for new trial.