Bloom v. Lewis

640 P.2d 935, 97 N.M. 435
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 3, 1980
Docket3952
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 640 P.2d 935 (Bloom v. Lewis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bloom v. Lewis, 640 P.2d 935, 97 N.M. 435 (N.M. Ct. App. 1980).

Opinions

OPINION

ANDREWS, Judge.

Marsha Hodges, Debbie Dils and Laurie Bordelon were passengers in a car driven by Louise Dils. Proceeding in the opposite direction was a truck driven by Leann Lewis in which Cindy Lewis was the sole passenger. Louise Dils, Debbie Dils, and Marsha Hodges were killed in a collision with the Lewis vehicle.

The parties to this appeal are Walter and Louise Dils, and Linda Bloom, the personal representative of the estate of Louise Dils (Dils); Leann and Earl Lewis (Lewis); and, James R. Hodges, the personal representative of the estate of Marsha Hodges (Hodges). The Dils action and the Hodges action, and the Lewis cross-claims and third-party complaint, were consolidated for trial. Hodges recovered a money verdict against Dils; he appeals a verdict entered in favor of Lewises on his claim against them. The Dils plaintiffs appeal the verdict in favor of the Lewises on their complaint.

Dils’ version of the accident was that the Lewis vehicle was in Dils’ lane passing another vehicle as it rounded a hill, and that Lewis was unable to avoid Dils as she suddenly appeared over the hill. Lewis contended that Dils swerved into Lewis’ lane, a gesture which was to be understood as a “hello” from Dils. Lewis, inexperienced in this custom, swerved into Dils’ lane seeking to avoid Dils, but collided with the Dils car as it returned to its own lane. It is undisputed that the point of impact was in Dils’ lane.

Several issues are raised on this appeal.

I.Where an attorney destroys a tape recording of an interview with a witness is there a presumption that the recorded material was unfavorable to his client?
II.Should a jury instruction stating that there is a presumption of due care on the part of a decedent be given in a wrongful death case?
III. Should the testimony of the investigating police officer have been excluded as speculative?
IV. Was it error to consolidate the two cases?
V.Was it error for the court,to allow the fact of Dils’ liability insurance to be brought before the jury on the issue of the applicability of the family purpose doctrine?
VI.Should an instruction have been given to the effect that a party whose vehicle is on the wrong side of the road has the burden of explaining its presence there?
VII.Should the court have directed a verdict on the issue of Hodge’s contributory negligence?

I. Destruction of the Tape Recording

Shortly after the accident, the attorney for Lewis conducted a tape recorded interview with Laurie Bordelon, the only person riding in the Dils car who survived the accident. In a later deposition taken by attorneys for Dils, Bordelon did not recall anything about the accident which had a bearing on the issue of liability. Dils sought to obtain the tape of the , earlier interview by discovery, but the attorney for Lewis had destroyed the tape, purportedly because there was nothing of significance on it, and he wanted to reuse the tape.

Dils argues that the actions amount to a destruction of evidence; and thus, that there is a presumption that the tapie contained material unfavorable to Lewis. If such a presumption arose, or even if it was an arguable inference, the trial court committed several errors, but we conclude that it did not.

The tape of the interview was not evidence which was in any way available to Dils because it was undiscoverable work product, and thus the destruction of the tape could not have been destruction of evidence. Statements taken by an attorney from a witness are work product, and may not be discovered unless good cause exists. Carter v. Burn Const. Co., 85 N.M. 27, 508 P.2d 1324 (Ct.App.), cert. denied, 85 N.M. 5, 508 P.2d 1302 (1973).

To establish good cause a party must show that the material sought is not available upon the exercise of diligent effort and that it is necessary for the preparation of his case, or that the denial of the-production of the material sought will unfairly prejudice his case or cause him undue hardship or injustice.

Id. at 31, 508 P.2d 1324.

Dils made no such showing. There is nothing in the record to indicate that Laurie Bordelon was unwilling to talk to Lewis’ attorney. Dils knew the witness’ whereabouts at all times and yet failed to depose her until shortly before the trial. It is not clear that there was any information on the destroyed tape which would have been useful in the preparation of Dils' case, but even if there were, we cannot conclude that good cause existed for the discovery of the lawyer’s work product. The trial court acted correctly in finding that the tape was protected, and thus did not err in refusing to allow Dils to inject the issue into the trial.

II. Jury Instruction Concerning Presumption of Due Care

It was not an error for the trial court to refuse to instruct the jury that there is a presumption of due care on the part of a decedent in a wrongful death action. Such an instruction is expressly forbidden by U.J.I.Civ. 12.16, N.M.S.A.1978, and this Court has no authority to strike down Uniform Jury Instructions promulgated by our Supreme Court. See Ammerman v. Hubbard Broadcasting Inc., 89 N.M. 307, 551 P.2d 1354 (1976).

III. Speculative Testimony of the Police Officer

The trial court did not err in admitting a conjectural statement as to the cause of the accident made by the investigating police officer. The police officer’s speculation was offered in response to a question which did not call for any such answer, and thus the burden was on counsel for Dils to move that the answer be struck. Dils did not so move, and thus failed to preserve any error which might have resulted from the speculative testimony.

Rule 103, New Mexico Rules of Evidence, in regard to the effect of failure to timely object, states:

Error may not be predicated upon a ruling which admits or excludes evidence unless a substantial right of the party is affected, and
(1) Objection. In case the ruling is one admitting evidence a timely objection or motion to strike appears of record, stating the specific ground of objection. . . .

Thus, by analogy, it is clear that “failure to object to the admission of evidence constitutes a waiver of objection, and in such case, the objection cannot be raised for the first time on appeal.” McCauley v. Ray, 80 N.M. 171, 453 P.2d 192 (1968). Failure to move to strike, therefore, is dispositive.

IV. Consolidation of the Two Cases

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Roark v. Farmers Group, Inc.
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Bloom v. Lewis
640 P.2d 935 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 1980)

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640 P.2d 935, 97 N.M. 435, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bloom-v-lewis-nmctapp-1980.