Lewis v. Gubanski

905 S.W.2d 847, 50 Ark. App. 255, 1995 Ark. App. LEXIS 451
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedSeptember 13, 1995
DocketCA 94-164
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 905 S.W.2d 847 (Lewis v. Gubanski) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lewis v. Gubanski, 905 S.W.2d 847, 50 Ark. App. 255, 1995 Ark. App. LEXIS 451 (Ark. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinions

Melvin Mayfield, Judge.

This is an appeal from a judgment entered on a jury verdict against the appellant Cathy Lewis and in favor of the appellees. The lawsuit was filed as a result of an accident involving three vehicles. Although the cause of action is a tort, the appeal is in this court because it does not present “a question” about the law of torts as required by Arkansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Rule l-2(a)(16). The only issues presented involve questions about the admissibility of evidence.

Appellant’s first point on appeal states that “the trial court made a reversible error in admitting the out-of-court statement of Earl Medley into evidence as an adoptive admission.”

The accident occurred in September 1991, and the case was tried in August of 1993. At the time of the accident the appellant was driving one of the vehicles, and her husband, Earl Medley, was a passenger in that vehicle. The appellee Rebecca Guban-ski was driving another vehicle, and the suit was filed by her against the appellant and the driver and the owner of the third vehicle. The jury found for Gubanski against the appellant but not against the driver or owner of the third vehicle. At the time of the trial the appellant and her husband were divorced, and he was living in another state and was not present at the trial. The appellees, however, offered the testimony of John Goodsell, a truck driver who was present at the scene of the accident. They sought to elicit from Goodsell testimony that shortly after the accident he talked with Earl Medley in the appellant’s presence, and that Medley said the accident was the appellant’s fault. This testimony was offered as an adoptive admission under Arkansas Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2)(ii).

The court heard Goodsell’s testimony in chambers to determine if a sufficient foundation had been laid. Goodsell testified:

After the accident we parked [at a] wide place and came back down to where it was all at. I walked around and talked to people after the accident. I talked to Ms. Lewis’ husband. When I had the conversation with him Ms. Lewis was standing there. We were all standing there just at the Jeep, all together there. The tone or loudness of the conversation in my opinion Ms. Lewis would’ve heard what was said. He said she was nervous and [he] told her to go ahead and that she had all kind of room to make it and that it was her fault when it was all over with. Ms. Lewis didn’t say nothing.
I don’t know whether or not this lady heard the conversation. If she didn’t, she needs a hearing aid.

The trial court ruled that a sufficient foundation had been laid and allowed this testimony. We do not think the court erred in this ruling. Rule 801(d)(2)(h) provides that a statement offered against the party “of which he has manifested his adoption or belief in its truth” is not hearsay. Such a statement is called “an adoptive admission.” See Morris v. State, 302 Ark. 532, 792 S.W.2d 288 (1990). In Wilson v. City of Pine Bluff, 6 Ark. App. 286, 641 S.W.2d 33 (1982), it was pointed out that prior to the adoption of our Rules of Evidence we recognized what the Rules now refer to as an adoptive admission as a “tacit admission” and allowed it in evidence as an exception to the hearsay rule. The admissibility of such evidence is tested by whether a reasonable person, under the circumstances, would have been expected to deny the statements if they were in fact untrue. Morris said a trial court must find that sufficient foundational facts have been introduced so the jury can reasonably infer that the accused heard and understood the statement and the statement was such that, under the circumstances, if the accused did not concur in the statement he would normally respond. Once such a foundation has been established, the question is left to the jury to determine whether the accused acquiesced in the statement. 302 Ark. at 537, 792 S.W.2d at 291.

Preliminary questions concerning the admissibility of evidence, such as whether a proper foundation has been laid, are determined by the trial court. See Ark. R. Evid. 104(a). The trial court’s determination in this regard is reversed only if there is an abuse of discretion. Marx v. State, 291 Ark. 325, 724 S.W.2d 456 (1987). Under the circumstances in the instant case we think the trial court could have properly found that an adequate foundation for admissibility had been laid. The evidence was such that the jury could reasonably infer that the appellant heard Medley’s statement, and the jury could find that she acquiesced in it.

The appellant also argues that the statement of Medley should have been excluded under Ark. R. Evid. 403 which provides that evidence, although relevant, may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice or other considerations mentioned in the rale. The only consideration argued by appellant here is unfair prejudice. In Weger v. State, 315 Ark. 555, 559, 869 S.W.2d 688, 690 (1994), our supreme court said, “We have repeatedly held that the balancing of probative value against prejudice is a matter left to the sound discretion of the trial judge, and a trial judge’s ruling on this issue will not be disturbed absent a showing of manifest abuse.” We cannot say the trial judge abused his discretion in allowing this evidence in this case, especially in light of our holding on the next point argued by the appellant.

Appellant’s next point is that “the trial court committed reversible error in refusing to admit, as rebuttal evidence, the statement given by Earl Medley to the insurance investigator....”

The appellees’ first response to this point is that there was not an adequate proffer of this statement. We do not agree. Arkansas Rules of Evidence 103(a)(2) provides that no offer of proof is required if the substance of the evidence sought to be introduced is “apparent from the context within which questions were asked.” See also Billett v. State, 317 Ark. 346, 348, 877 S.W.2d 913, 914 (1994) (“[P]roffer is not necessary when the substance of the offer is apparent.”).

Here, the appellant’s abstract shows that after an attorney for Mr. Wyatt (the driver of the third vehicle), who is one of the appellees, had elicited from the witness John Goodsell his testimony of what the appellant’s husband said in the appellant’s presence about the automobile accident being her fault, the appellant testified in rebuttal that her husband “did not say anything remotely resembling” what Goodsell testified her husband said. Appellant then stated, “He provided a statement to the investigators for Mr. Wyatt within a few days after the accident.” At this point Mr. Wyatt’s attorney objected and appellant’s attorney told the trial judge that the statement referred to was taken by Mr. Wyatt’s insurance company and “is inconsistent to what Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
905 S.W.2d 847, 50 Ark. App. 255, 1995 Ark. App. LEXIS 451, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lewis-v-gubanski-arkctapp-1995.