National Paint & Coatings Ass'n v. City of Chicago

835 F. Supp. 414, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13646, 1993 WL 413136
District Court, N.D. Illinois·Decided September 23, 1993·No. No. 92 C 4023·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ASPEN, District Judge:

Presently before the court are (1) defendant City of Chicago’s motion to strike tentatively admitted evidence, (2) plaintiffs’ motion to strike tentatively admitted evidence, and (3) plaintiffs’ motion to supplement the record. As explained below, we deny the City’s motion to strike, grant in part and deny in part plaintiffs’ motion to strike, and grant plaintiffs’ motion to supplement the record.

I. The City’s Motion to Strike

To expedite the bench trial which commenced on July 15, 1993 and, after six days of testimony, concluded on August 2, 1993, the court ordered the parties to submit objections to certain trial exhibits and testimo[416]*416ny in the form of post-trial motions to strike. In accordance with our ruling, the City of Chicago now moves to strike: (1) the written cross-examination of Robert Angone; (2) Plaintiffs’ Trial Exhibit 161, submitted along with the written cross-examination of Robert O’Connor; (3) all references to “Wayco Hardware, Inc.”; (4) Plaintiffs’ Trial Exhibits 5A-5B, 6A-B, 7A-C, and 8A-B; (5) Plaintiffs’ Trial Exhibit 9; (6) Plaintiffs’ Trial Exhibit 36; and (7) Plaintiffs’ Trial Exhibit 77.

A. Written Cross-Examination of Robert Angone

The gravamen of the City’s objection to the submission of excerpts from Robert Angone’s deposition (Plaintiffs’ Trial Exhibit 157) is that those excerpts are almost entirely redundant to those matters addressed in Angone’s ninety minute, oral cross-examination (R694-745). The City protests that “[pjlaintiffs are not entitled to a second bite of the apple as to any of [the topics covered in oral cross-examination].”

While we agree with the City that redundant cross-examination has no place in the record, it is equally apparent that the written submission in question cannot be labelled as such. Although plaintiffs may have touched on the same general subject matters in both the oral and written cross-examination of Angone, the specific lines of questioning were complimentary rather than redundant. An-gone was one of the City’s most important witnesses, and the written submission furthers plaintiffs’ attempt to permissibly impeach the witness. Additionally, it is important to note that the procedure invoked by the court of submitting cross-examination in writing to conserve precious trial time was suggested initially by the City. R124. Plaintiffs reluctantly acquiesced, giving up the right to thoroughly confront the City’s witnesses in person. As such, we can discern no prejudice to the City in allowing Plaintiffs’ Trial Exhibit 157 in its entirety.

B. Plaintiffs’ Trial Exhibit 161

The City now objects to the introduction of Plaintiffs’ Trial Exhibit 161 because it is hearsay and no foundation has been established. In apparent agreement, plaintiffs have withdrawn the exhibit, leaving the City’s objection moot.

C.References to “Wayco Hardware, Inc.”

The City moves to strike any reference to the hardware store owned by “Wayco Hardware, Inc.” In support, the City merely states: “Neither Wayco Hardware Inc. nor its sole shareholder, Mr. Schauer, is a party to this case. Mr. Schauer’s testimony regarding that company is therefore irrelevant.”

Contrary to the City’s suggestion, plaintiffs need not confine its proof respecting the negative economic impact of the ordinances in question to the reverberations felt by the named plaintiffs. To be sure, in assessing the constitutionality of the ordinances under the commerce clause, the court’s focus rests, at least in part, on the burdens imposed on interstate commerce as a whole, as opposed to plaintiffs’ interstate commerce. See Exxon Corp. v. Governor of Maryland, 437 U.S. 117, 128, 98 S.Ct. 2207, 2215, 57 L.Ed.2d 91 (1978) (“the [Commerce] Clause protects the interstate market, not particular interstate firms, from prohibitive or burdensome regulations”). As such, evidence of the impact of the ordinances on entities such as “Wayco Hardware, Inc.” are relevant, and will be admitted subject only to the restrictions of Fed.R.Evid. 403. In that the probative value of Wayne Schauer’s testimony concerning Wayco Hardware, Inc. outweighs any prejudicial effect, we deny the City’s motion to strike all references to “Wayco Hardware, Inc.”

D.Plaintiffs’ Trial Exhibits 5A-5B, 6A-B, 7A-C, and 8A-B

Plaintiffs’ Trial Exhibits 5A-5B, 6A-B, 7A-C, and 8A-B are examples of spray painted and brush painted items. The City objects to the introduction of these exhibits on the ground of relevancy. Specifically, citing Exxon Corp. v. Governor of Maryland, 437 U.S. at 128, 98 S.Ct. at 2215, the City contends that the potential harm to the consuming public “relates to the wisdom of the statute, not its burden on commerce.”

In Exxon, the Court confronted a statute (1) prohibiting a producer or refiner of petroleum products from operating any retail ser[417]*417vice station within the State of Maryland, and (2) requiring such producers or refiners to extend all “voluntary allowances” uniformly to all service stations it supplies. Id. at 119-120, 98 S.Ct. at 2207. Exxon contended that, regardless of whether the State had interfered with the movement of goods in interstate commerce, the statute interfered “with the natural functioning of the interstate market either through prohibition or through burdensome regulation ... [which will operate to] weaken[] the independent refiners.” Id. at 127, 98 S.Ct. at 2214-15. In rejecting this argument, the Court stated: “It may be true that the consuming public will be injured by the loss of high-volume, low-priced stations operated by independent refiners, but again that argument relates to the wisdom of the statute, not to its burden on commerce.” Id. at 128, 98 S.Ct. at 2215.

Unlike the plaintiffs in Exxon, the plaintiffs in the instant case do not contend that the exhibits in question are relevant regardless of whether the local governing body has interfered with the movement of goods in interstate commerce. Instead, plaintiffs contend that these exhibits demonstrate precisely why approximately 40% of consumers will abandon tasks they would otherwise perform with spray paint. In light of this link between the harm to the consuming public and the movement (or lack of movement) of goods in interstate commerce, we find that Plaintiffs’ Trial Exhibits 5A-5B, 6A-B, 7A-C, and 8A-B are relevant and may be admitted into evidence.

E.Plaintiffs’ Trial Exhibit 9

The City objects to a portion of Plaintiffs’ Trial Exhibit 9, consisting of John Skorburg’s calculation of the economic impact in the City of Chicago of the ordinances in question. Specifically, the City contends that all analysis relating to “indirect” losses, job loss and sales tax loss should be stricken as “[t]hese matters cannot be calculated to a reasonable degree of certainty, nor were the calculations made according to a method accepted in the economic community.”

Notably, the City does not contend that the above described losses are irrelevant to the current inquiry. Indeed, loss peripheral sales are a direct indication of the ordinances’ impact on the movement of goods in interstate commerce.

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National Paint & Coatings Ass'n v. City of Chicago, 835 F. Supp. 414, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13646, 1993 WL 413136 (N.D. Ill. 1993).

835 F. Supp. 414 (National Paint & Coatings Ass'n v. City of Chicago) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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