Dunn v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance

264 F.R.D. 266, 81 Fed. R. Serv. 359, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119961, 2009 WL 5171798
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedDecember 23, 2009
DocketNo. 08-12831
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 264 F.R.D. 266 (Dunn v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dunn v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance, 264 F.R.D. 266, 81 Fed. R. Serv. 359, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119961, 2009 WL 5171798 (E.D. Mich. 2009).

Opinion

[270]*270 OPINION & ORDER

LAWRENCE P. ZATKOFF, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This matter comes before the Court on (1) Intervenor-Plaintiffs Motion in Limine to Exclude Evidence of Rent Payments [dkt 49]; (2) Intervenor-Plaintiffs Motion in Li-mine to Exclude References to Licensure [dkt 55]; (3) Intervenor-Plaintiffs Motion in Limine to Exclude Evidence of Criminal History [dkt 50]; (4) Intervenor-Plaintiffs Motion in Limine to Exclude Any of Defendant’s Market Surveys [dkt 51]; (5) Intervenor-Plaintiffs Motion in Limine to Exclude Evidence of Fraud [dkt 52]; (6) Intervenor-Plaintiffs Motion in Limine Regarding Independent Medical Examinations [dkt 53]; (7) Intervenor-Plaintiffs Motion in Limine to Exclude Evidence Introduced by Defendant Contesting the Reasonableness of Health-call’s Rates [dkt 54]; (8) Defendant’s Motion in Limine Regarding Prior Payments [dkt 67]; (9) Defendant’s Motion in Limine to Preclude Mention of Allegations that Defendant Acted Negligently or in Bad Faith in its Claims Handling Procedures for No-Fault Benefits [dkt 68]; (10) Defendant’s Motion in Limine RE: Failure to Produce Evidence [dkt 71]; (11) Intervenor-Plaintiffs Motion in Limine to Exclude Evidence of an Insurance Policy or Any Contract Between Inter-venor-Plaintiff and Defendant [dkt 76]; (12) Intervenor-Plaintiffs Motion to Strike Defendant’s Untimely Disclosed Witnesses [dkt 78]; and (13) Intervenor-Plaintiffs Motion in Limine to Exclude Evidence of Prior Providers Other than E.S.S.I.E. [dkt 87]. The parties have fully briefed all Motions. The Court finds that the facts and legal arguments are adequately presented in the parties’ papers such that the decision process would not be significantly aided by oral argument. Therefore, pursuant to E.D. Mich. LR 7.1(e)(2), it is hereby ORDERED that the motions be resolved on the briefs submitted. The motions will be addressed in turn.

II. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff sustained serious injuries in a motor-vehicle accident that occurred in 1992. The accident resulted in a traumatic brain injury and rendered her comatose for over one month. As a result of her brain injury, Plaintiff now suffers from a plethora of mental problems, including mood disorder, bipolar disorder, hallucinations, delusions, depression, severe anxiety, and sleep disorder as well as impaired memory, cognitive skills, judgment, and problem-solving capacity. Plaintiff also broke her C-3 and C-4 vertebrae in the accident, resulting in considerable back and neck pain. These afflictions have impacted Plaintiffs physical activities, making it extremely difficult for her to care for herself. Plaintiffs situation is further complicated by unrelated health problems: she is asthmatic, blind in one eye, and HIV-positive. Plaintiff relies on a team of physicians and healthcare specialists for pain management, psychiatric care, and physical therapy. In-tervenor-Plaintiff has provided such care to Plaintiff since 2007.

Plaintiff brought this action against Defendant for non-payment of no-fault insurance benefits arising out of the 1992 motor vehicle accident. Defendant removed this action to this Court on July 2, 2008. On November 21, 2008, the Court entered a stipulation into the record permitting Healthcall of Detroit, Inc. to intervene in this matter. On September 3, 2009, Plaintiff released all claims against Defendant, leaving only the claims of Interve-nor-Plaintiff in this case. Intervenor-Plain-tiff seeks reimbursement from Defendant for Plaintiffs medical expenses under the Michigan No-Fault Insurance Act on the basis that such expenses were reasonable, reasonably necessary, and incurred.

III. LEGAL STANDARD

District courts have broad discretion over matters involving the admissibility of evidence at trial. U.S. v. Seago, 930 F.2d 482, 494 (6th Cir.1991). Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, relevant evidence is that which has “any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence.” Fed.R.Evid. 401. “Evidence which is not relevant is not admissible.” Fed.R.Evid. 402. Further, relevant evidence [271]*271“may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence.” Fed.R.Evid. 403.

IV. ANALYSIS

A. Intervenor-Plaintiffs Motion in Li-mine to Exclude Evidence of Rent Payments [dkt 49]

Intervenor-Plaintiff moves to exclude from trial evidence pertaining to the monthly Supplement to the Federal Section 8 Housing Program that Intervenor-Plaintiff paid on behalf of Plaintiff. Since it began providing services to Plaintiff, Intervenor-Plaintiff paid Plaintiffs housing supplement to the Section 8 Housing Program, intending to pass the cost on to Defendant. On July 17, 2009, this Court granted summary judgment to Defendant as to Intervenor-Plaintiffs claim for reimbursement for the monthly rental supplement.

Intervenor-Plaintiff argues that since it is precluded from seeking reimbursement for rent payments at trial, such evidence is not relevant to Intervenor-Plaintiffs claims for other expenses related to Plaintiffs treatment. Intervenor-Plaintiff further argues that evidence of Defendant’s partial victory against Intervenor-Plaintiff is more prejudicial than probative in that it will result in confusion of the issues and imply that Inter-venor-Plaintiff improperly sought reimbursement for payments not allowed under the Michigan No-Fault Insurance Act. Defendant responds that Intervenor-Plaintiffs itemization of claims still includes notations for a “monthly rental supplement,” which would render Intervenor-Plaintiffs claims per se unreasonable and nonrecoverable. Defendant argues that Intervenor-Plaintiffs claim must be reduced to eliminate charges for monthly rental payments, and that the amount to be deducted should be decided by the jury.

The Court finds that evidence pertaining to Intervenor-Plaintiffs payment of rental housing supplements on behalf of Plaintiff is not relevant. Contrary to Defendant’s contention, Intervenor-Plaintiff has revised its claim for damages to clarify that it is not pursuing recovery for the supplement to Plaintiffs Section 8 Housing Program and that it has removed all such charges from its calculations. See Joint Final Pretrial Order, Exhibit A, Pg. A, n. 4. Intervenor-Plaintiffs remaining claims seek reimbursement under the Michigan No-Fault Insurance Act for expenses related to skilled nurse visits, home health aide care, occupational therapy, and medically necessary transportation. As such, evidence related to rental payments has no bearing on the jury’s determination of whether the charges for Healthcall’s remaining expenses are reasonable, reasonably necessary, and incurred.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
264 F.R.D. 266, 81 Fed. R. Serv. 359, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119961, 2009 WL 5171798, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dunn-v-state-farm-mutual-automobile-insurance-mied-2009.