F I L E D United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS OCT 14 1998 TENTH CIRCUIT PATRICK FISHER Clerk
TREVA L. JOHNSON
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v. No. 97-6315 (D. Ct. No. 96-CV-1049-T) HATHCOCK TRUCK LINES; (W. D. Okla.) SAMMY T. OTWELL,
Defendants - Appellees.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before ANDERSON, TACHA, and BALDOCK, Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and the appellate record, this three-judge panel
has determined unanimously that oral argument would not be of material
assistance in the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a); 10th
Cir. R. 34.1.9. The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
Plaintiff appeals from a final judgment entered by the district court in
accordance with a jury verdict for the defense. On appeal, plaintiff raises eleven
* This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. This court generally disfavors the citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order and judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3. separate allegations of reversible error. We take jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.
§ 1291 and affirm.
Background
Plaintiff Treva L. Johnson brought a personal injury action in the Western
District of Oklahoma pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332 after she, heading north,
struck the end of defendants’ trailer as it made a left turn to head south. A four-
way stop sign marked the intersection where the accident occurred. Defendant
Sammy T. Otwell drove and defendant Hathcock Truck Lines owned the truck.
Defendants maintain that the accident occurred because plaintiff, impaired
by alcohol, failed to stop at the intersection. Plaintiff denies any impairment.
Instead, she argues that she never saw the stop sign for any of several reasons:
1) it was bent over; 2) the reflective material was old and not properly operative;
3) the headlights of defendants’ truck were in her eyes; and/or 4) the trailer
blocked her view of the sign. In addition, plaintiff contends that Mr. Otwell
improperly cut the corner when turning, thereby placing the trailer in her lane of
traffic, and that the trailer’s running lights must have been inoperative for her not
to see the trailer. After a full trial, the jury returned a verdict for defendants.
This appeal followed. Additional essential facts will appear in our discussion of
each of the plaintiff’s individual claims below.
Discussion
-2- I. Alleged Error No. 1: Improper Accusation of Perjury
At the conclusion of defense counsel’s cross-examination of Mr. Mathews,
plaintiff’s rebuttal witness, he posed following question: “Do you know what
perjury is Mr. Mathews?” Plaintiff contends that the district court committed
reversible error by overruling her objection to this query. We disagree. Federal
Rule of Evidence 611 asserts that the trial court shall exercise control over the
mode and order of interrogating witnesses and presenting evidence. We will not
disturb the district court’s conduct of trial proceedings, including rulings on
motions and objections, unless the record affirmatively shows that it abused its
discretion. See Higgins v. Martin Marietta Corp. , 752 F.2d 492, 498 (10 th Cir.
1985).
We find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in overruling
plaintiff’s objection. Unlike the conduct in the 1920s cases upon which plaintiff
relies, this single question did not constitute such a “bitter and passionate” attack
on the witness so as to arouse the prejudice of the jury. Indeed, the question was
not even a direct charge of perjury.
Additionally, we find that plaintiff suffered no prejudice from the timing of
the court’s ruling, which occurred immediately after Mr. Mathews had been
excused as a witness. Although plaintiff contends that she suffered prejudice
because the timing of the court’s ruling precluded any redirect examination of Mr.
-3- Mathews, the record is devoid of any indication that plaintiff desired redirect. In
fact, moments after excusing the witness and overruling the objection, the court,
at a bench conference, asked whether both parties now rested their cases.
Plaintiff answered yes. Thus, this court does not find that the ruling or actions of
the district court constitute reversible error.
II. Alleged Error No. 2 - Treatment of Witness Mr. Mathews
A. Denial of Plaintiff’s Motion to Add an Expert
Plaintiff next contends that the court erred in denying her motion to add
Mr. Mathews as an expert witness after submission of the final witness list. At
the time plaintiff prepared her list of expert witnesses, Mr. Mathews was
recuperating from heart surgery and unavailable to testify. Some five months
after filing her initial witness list, plaintiff submitted a motion for leave to add
Mr. Mathews to her expert list on June 2, 1997, after learning that Mr. Mathews
had returned to work. The district court denied her motion on June 9, 1997.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b) states that a “schedul[ing order] shall
not be modified except upon a showing of good cause and by leave of the district
judge.” Thus, the district judge has considerable latitude in determining whether
a scheduling departure is warranted. Moreover, the “admissibility of expert
testimony is within the broad discretion of the trial court and is reviewed for
abuse of discretion only.” Curtis v. Oklahoma City Pub. Schs. Bd. of Educ. , 147
-4- F.3d 1200, 1219 (10 th Cir. 1998); see also, e.g. , Summers v. Missouri Pac. R.R.
Sys. , 132 F.3d 599, 603 (10 th Cir. 1997). Thus, the district court had broad
discretion as to whether plaintiff could add Mr. Mathews to her list of experts. It
did not abuse that discretion here.
Plaintiff attempts to bolster her argument by claiming that because of the
delay of the pretrial proceedings and discovery, defendants would have had ample
opportunity to depose Mr. Mathews and therefore not be prejudiced by the
addition. We disagree. The conduct of the plaintiff and plaintiff’s counsel in this
case undoubtedly contributed to these delays. Plaintiff’s counsel failed to comply
with court orders to compel discovery and was nearly held in contempt. Plaintiff
also failed to appear for her scheduled deposition, for which she was sanctioned.
We refuse to reward such behavior by using it as an excuse to extend the deadline
for other discovery purposes.
B. District Court’s Comments
Plaintiff further alleges that the court committed reversible error by calling
Mr. Mathews a “so-called expert” in the presence of the jury, thereby
undermining his credibility, and by attempting to cut off plaintiff’s examination
of him. We disagree. Mr. Mathews was not called as an expert witness. Rather,
the record indicates that at a bench conference the court used its discretion, over
objection of the defense, to allow Mr. Mathews to testify only as a rebuttal
-5- witness. Because Mr. Mathews was not testifying as an expert, it is hard to see
how the court’s referral to him as a “so-called expert” undermines his credibility
as a lay witness. In any event, we find that this characterization does not
constitute reversible error.
Furthermore, plaintiff’s additional complaint that the trial court
impermissibly attempted to cut off questioning has no merit. The trial court has
broad discretion to ensure that rebuttal testimony does not exceed fixed
boundaries. See United States v. Olivo , 80 F.3d 1466, 1470 (10 th Cir. 1996) (“A
trial court has broad discretion to admit or exclude rebuttal evidence.”). The
record indicates that the district court merely prevented plaintiff from questioning
Mr. Mathews about matters beyond the permissible scope of rebuttal.
III. Alleged Error No. 3: Bias of Trial Court
This court takes an allegation of bias on the part of a district court judge
very seriously. In this case, we find the claim completely unfounded.
On June 30, 1997, the magistrate judge ordered plaintiff to produce all
medical records relating to the accident. Plaintiff’s counsel produced the records,
but made approximately twenty to twenty-five redactions. Defendants moved to
compel production of the deleted portions. The district court granted this request
on July 22, 1997, and directed plaintiff’s attorney to produce the unredacted
records no later than 5:00 pm on Thursday, July 24, 1997. Plaintiff’s counsel
-6- again refused to properly produce the documents, and on July 25, 1997, the trial
court ordered a contempt hearing for July 29, 1997, to give plaintiff’s counsel an
opportunity to show cause why he had not obeyed the order. Plaintiff’s claim of
bias rests primarily on comments made by the district court at this contempt
hearing.
During the contempt hearing, the court rebuked plaintiff’s counsel for
attempting to extend the time of the discovery order despite the clear July 24
deadline. The court also noted that counsel’s conduct had impeded the case and
distracted the court from other pressing matters. It further commented upon
counsel’s lack of familiarity with the rules of the court and applicable statutes in
the case, but did state that it was “not too late to redeem” himself. None of these
comments show prejudicial bias.
Plaintiff also points to six additional items that she claims evidence bias on
the part of the court during the trial. The first four concern the district court’s
supervision of the direct and cross-examination of Mr. Mathews, discussed above.
The last two points occurred during the direct examination of Damon Smoot, an
expert witness and former truck driver. During the examination, plaintiff alleges
the district court improperly “cut off” Mr. Smoot’s testimony regarding two
critical issues. After a careful review of the record, we find that none of these
additional items suggest district court bias.
-7- In sum, we find that the record reveals no bias in the conduct of the judge
before or during trial. To the contrary, the record reflects the district court’s
unflagging efforts to ensure that all parties received a fair trial.
IV. Alleged Error No. 4: Trial Court’s Conduct During Plaintiff’s Closing Argument
Plaintiff contends that the lower court committed reversible error by
admonishing her counsel during closing arguments. We disagree. The trial judge
maintains considerable discretion in supervising arguments of counsel. See
Ramsey v. Culpepper , 738 F.2d 1092, 1100 (10 th Cir. 1984). It is not an abuse of
the court’s discretion to interrupt closing arguments and administer mild
admonitions to correct an apparently improper argument. See United States v.
Rosenfeld , 545 F.2d 98, 103 (10 th Cir. 1976). During a lengthy bench conference,
counsel for both sides agreed to stipulate that plaintiff had not been prosecuted
for driving under the influence (DUI) or while intoxicated (DWI). Plaintiff’s
counsel violated this stipulation during his closing argument by stating that his
client had not been charged with DUI or DWI. The trial court corrected counsel
by declaring that his statement was improper and contrary to the stipulation, and
advised the jury to disregard it. Immediately after this correction, plaintiff’s
counsel again declared that his client had not been charged. Noting that counsel
had violated the stipulation twice within a minute and a half, the court advised
counsel that under the precise terms of the agreement, he should have stated
-8- “prosecuted” rather than “charged.” This conduct falls well within the court’s
discretion of supervising arguments.
V. Alleged Errors Nos. 5 & 6: Jury Instructions
Plaintiff argues that the district court erred in failing to instruct the jury
that backing across an intersection constitutes negligence per se and that it erred
in not giving a specific instruction on the issue of making an improper turn. We
disagree. The “admission or exclusion of a particular jury instruction is within
the sound discretion of the trial court.” Okland Oil Co. v. Conoco, Inc. , 144 F.3d
1308, 1324 (10 th Cir. 1998). In addition, we conduct a de novo review of the
instructions to determine whether, as a whole, they accurately stated “the
governing law and provided the jury with an ample understanding of the issues
and applicable standards.” Id.
We find that the trial court did not commit reversible error in failing to
instruct the jury that backing across an intersection is negligence per se. Given
the scant evidence in the record indicating that defendant Otwell backed his truck
across an intersection, the trial court did not err in refusing to give plaintiff’s
proffered instruction, nor were the instructions as a whole misleading or
incomplete due to this omission.
We further hold that the court did not err by failing to giving a specific
instruction regarding an improper turn. First, plaintiff admits that she did not
-9- object to the omission. Second, plaintiff admits that this “may not be reversible
error standing alone.” Appellant’s Br. at 36-37. Third, nothing in the record
indicates that plaintiff requested any particular instruction dealing with this issue.
Finally, failure to instruct the jury regarding the alleged improper turn did not
make the instructions as a whole inaccurate or misleading.
VI. Alleged Error No. 7: Dismissal of Prospective Juror
Plaintiff contends that the district court committed reversible error by
dismissing a prospective juror, a retired truck driver, despite his assertion that he
could be fair and objective. We disagree. The district court has the duty and
authority to dismiss jurors for cause. See 28 U.S.C. § 1870 (“All challenges for
cause or favor, whether to the array or panel or to individual jurors, shall be
determined by the court.”). Considering that the entire case hinged upon the
negligence of a truck driver, the district court certainly did not abuse its
discretion when it dismissed a juror with thirty-two years of truck driving
experience. In any event, plaintiff apparently failed to object to the discharge of
the juror and therefore did not properly preserve the issue for review. See
Vanskike v. ACF Indus. , 665 F.2d 188, 207 (8 th Cir. 1981).
VII. Alleged Error No. 8: Issuance of Subpoenas Duces Tecum Without Notice
Plaintiff argues that the issuance of seventeen subpoenas duces tecum by
defendants’ counsel without notice to plaintiff constitutes a violation of her
- 10 - constitutional right to privacy under the Fourth Amendment, a violation of
physician-patient privilege, and a violation of Rule 45 of the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure. Plaintiff notes that “the remedy to plaintiff at this point is
monetary sanctions . . . and an order for defendants’ attorney to return [the
improper discovery material with a signed affidavit stating] that no copies will be
retained.” Appellant’s Br. at 43. Because the district court has previously
ordered that defendants return all records obtained by the improper subpoenas in
its June 30, 1997, order and plaintiff makes no assertion that defendant failed to
comply with this directive, we do not address that request.
This court will reverse the denial of monetary discovery sanctions only if it
finds that the district court abused its discretion. See, e.g. , Gomez v. Martin
Marietta Corp. , 50 F.3d 1511, 1519 (10 th Cir. 1995); Ehrenhaus v. Reynolds , 965
F.2d 916, 920 (10 th Cir. 1992). The record indicates that the district court
undertook a careful inquiry of the issues raised by plaintiff and made a detailed
decision in its order of June 30, 1997. The court stated:
Defense counsel claims that the lack of notice to Plaintiff’s counsel was a clerical oversight, and although Plaintiff’s counsel does not agree, he offers no evidence otherwise. Defense counsel further claims that when the error was discovered, attempts were made to remedy the situation by providing Plaintiff with copies of all documents received and offering to provide copies to Plaintiff’s counsel notifying parties in writing to disregard subpoenas if no response had been made; offering to agree to a protective order with respect to the documents; placing the documents received in a separate file and agreeing not to read them; acknowledging the
- 11 - mistake and apologizing; and taking corrective measures to prevent a reoccurrence.
The court concluded:
Because the undersigned finds neither deliberate action on the part of the Defendants nor serious prejudice or damage to Plaintiff, Plaintiff’s motion is denied for suppression of evidence and other sanctions with the exception that defense counsel are ordered to return any records obtained by the subpoenas which have not been returned to the producer of such records.
We cannot find that the district court abused its discretion in its handling of this
matter.
VIII. Alleged Error No. 9: Sanctions Against Plaintiff
Plaintiff argues that she should not have been sanctioned by the district
court for her failure to appear at a noticed deposition on May 27, 1997. We
disagree. As noted above, we “review rulings on discovery sanctions for abuse of
discretion in light of the totality of the circumstances.” Gomez , 50 F.3d at 1519.
We find that the district court did not abuse its discretion in awarding defendants
their attorneys’ fees and costs for the failure of plaintiff to appear at the noticed
deposition. There is ample evidence in the record to support the district court’s
conclusion that defendants did not violate their agreement to “try” to set
deposition by agreement rather than notice, including the district court’s
recognition of five separate letters that span the months of January to May in
which defense counsel requested convenient deposition dates. Therefore, the
- 12 - sanctions set by the district court will stand.
IX. Alleged Error No. 10: Independent Medical Exam
Plaintiff next claims that the trial court erred in ordering her to appear at an
independent medical examination. As plaintiff notes, given that no examination
occurred, this issue is pertinent only if this court decides to reverse and remand
the case for a new trial. Because we affirm, we need not address this issue.
X. Alleged Error No. 11: Order to Compel
Finally, plaintiff contends that the trial court erred in ordering the
production of unredacted medical records stemming from the accident and
sanctioning plaintiff’s counsel for failing to timely submit them. Plaintiff asserts
that under Nitzel v. Jackson , 879 P.2d 1222 (Okla. 1994), portions of the report
were not discoverable. In its order compelling production of the unredacted
medical records, the district court found plaintiff’s reliance on Nitzel misplaced
because medical records pertaining to the night of the accident were relevant, not
privileged, and discoverable.
We review de novo the district court’s determination of state law and the
corresponding scope of privilege. See Frontier Ref., Inc. v. Gorman-Rupp Co. ,
136 F.3d 695, 700 (10 th Cir. 1998). We agree with the district court that no
privilege existed to support the plaintiff’s redaction of the medical records. In
our view, the Nitzel court sought simply to ensure the relevancy of discovered
- 13 - material and prevent “fishing expeditions.” 879 P.2d at 1223 & n.*. The
Oklahoma Supreme Court’s recognition that a tort plaintiff’s patient-physician
privilege applies to information unrelated to her claim underscores the court’s
primary concern with relevancy as it relates to waiver of privilege. See id.
(finding that filing a personal injury claim does not require a plaintiff “to execute
a general medical authorization entitling the defendant to obtain all of the
plaintiff’s medical records”). Here, plaintiff’s counsel redacted medical reports
from the night plaintiff was injured. These records were undoubtedly relevant to
plaintiff’s personal injury claim because they reveal her physical condition
immediately following the accident. We find that plaintiff’s waiver of the
physician-patient privilege by filing this personal injury action extends to these
relevant medical records. Therefore, the district court was correct to compel their
production.
Finally, we uphold the sanctions against plaintiff’s counsel for failing to
produce the records when ordered by the magistrate judge. The trial court did not
abuse its discretion in this regard.
Conclusion
Based upon the foregoing conclusions, we find no reversible error and
AFFIRM.
- 14 - ENTERED FOR THE COURT,
Deanell Reece Tacha Circuit Judge
- 15 -