Rhoda v. Weathers

87 So. 3d 1067, 2011 WL 3452121, 2011 Miss. App. LEXIS 471
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedAugust 9, 2011
DocketNo. 2010-CA-00797-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 87 So. 3d 1067 (Rhoda v. Weathers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rhoda v. Weathers, 87 So. 3d 1067, 2011 WL 3452121, 2011 Miss. App. LEXIS 471 (Mich. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

MYERS, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. Marvin Rhoda and Edith Weathers were involved in a two-vehicle collision in Southaven, Mississippi. Rhoda brought suit against Weathers, alleging she had negligently caused the accident and his resulting injuries. The case was tried to a jury in the County Court of DeSoto County, which returned a verdict for Weathers. Rhoda appealed to the DeSoto County Circuit Court, which affirmed the trial court’s judgment. He then appealed that decision to the Mississippi Supreme Court, which assigned the case to this Court. We affirm, except as to Rule 37(c) sanctions.

FACTS

¶ 2. On April 21, 2004, Weathers was traveling south on W.E. Ross Parkway, which intersects with Church Road. There is a stop sign at the intersection, requiring southbound traffic on W.E. Ross Parkway to stop and the yield the right-of-way to vehicles on Church Road. Church Road is a four-lane, divided highway with a posted speed limit of forty-five miles per hour. Rhoda was traveling west on Church Road in the right lane of travel, the lane nearest to the intersection with W.E. Ross Parkway. What happened next was disputed.

¶ 3. Rhoda testified that Weathers came to a “rolling stop” at the intersection. He saw her enter the intersection without looking both ways, as he was passing through it, causing their vehicles to collide. According to Weathers, the last thing she remembered was stopping her vehicle outside the intersection. Weathers testified that she was completely stopped when her vehicle was struck. An eyewitness, Melissa Stanford, testified that she saw the accident while working as a drive-through teller at a nearby bank. Stanford stated that Rhoda hit a puddle, lost control of his vehicle, and collided with Weathers’s vehicle. Stanford also corroborated Weathers’s testimony that she was stopped outside the intersection at the time of the collision.

¶ 4. The jury returned a verdict finding that Weathers had not negligently caused or contributed to Rhoda’s injuries, and Rhoda appeals, raising six issues.

DISCUSSION

1. Police Accident Report

¶ 5. Rhoda sought to introduce into evidence an accident report prepared by Officer Brian Keller of the Southaven Police Department. The report was a [1069]*1069“Mississippi Uniform Crash Report,” essentially a form completed by the officer responding to the accident. The report contained a brief and somewhat contradictory narrative describing the collision:

[Rhoda] was westbound on Church Rd. in the # 2 lane. [Weathers] was stopped at the stop sign on W.E. Ross Pkwy. at Church Rd. [Weathers] started to make a left turn onto Church Rd. when [Rhoda] hit [Weathers] in the left door pushing her off the roadway to the west. The witness stated she noticed [Weathers] stopped and saw [Rhoda] hit [Weathers] in the driver’s side.

More importantly, the accident report had checkboxes for “contributing circumstances” attributable to each driver. For Rhoda, “no apparent improper driving” was checked, while Weathers was indicated to have “failed to yield the right-of-way.”

¶ 6. Essentially, Rhoda contends that the police report is substantive evidence that Weathers caused the accident by entering the intersection without yielding the right-of-way to him. Rhoda sought to introduce the report, but the trial court found it unreliable and did not allow it into evidence. On appeal, Rhoda contends that the accident report should have been admitted under Mississippi Rules of Evidence 803(6) and 808(8).

¶ 7. Police reports are hearsay. Rebelwood Apartments, LP v. English, 48 So.3d 483, 491 (¶ 36) (Miss.2010). Hearsay is generally inadmissible to prove the truth of the matter asserted, but Rule 803 provides certain exceptions. At issue in this case are Rule 803(6), the exception for records of regularly conducted activity, and Rule 803(8), the public records exception.

¶ 8. Rule of Evidence 803(8)(C) provides an exception for “factual findings resulting from an investigation made pursuant to authority granted by law, unless the sources of information or other circumstances indicate lack of trustworthiness.” According to the comment, Rule 803(8)(C) extends to the “factual findings made in an investigation which was conducted pursuant to lawful authority. Opinions and conclusions contained in such reports should be excluded.” The comment also notes that trial judges are “expressly give[n] ... the discretion to exclude such reports,” and other jurisdictions have exercised “great caution” in admitting them.

¶ 9. Rule 803(6), often called the business records exception to the rule against hearsay, provides that records kept in the “course of a regularly conducted business activity” are admissible, “unless the source of information or the method or circumstances of preparation indicate lack of trustworthiness.” M.R.E. 803(6).

¶ 10. In the recent Rebelwood decision, the Mississippi Supreme Court addressed the admissibility of police reports in civil actions. The court noted that the Rule 803(8) exception is interpreted broadly, so admissible “factual findings” may encompass opinions or conclusions, as long as they are factually based. Rebelwood, 48 So.3d at 492 (¶ 41). Our supreme court noted that the United States Supreme Court, interpreting the corresponding federal rule of evidence, held that police accident reports are admissible, including the officer’s conclusion as to fault, so long as they meet Rule 803’s trustworthiness requirements. Id. The rule in Mississippi is the same: “[a] conclusion in a police report may be admitted if based on a factual investigation and [it] satisfies the Rule’s trustworthiness requirement.” Id. at 493 (¶ 42) (citation and quotation omitted). Thus, the critical issue under either subsection of Rule 803 is whether the accident report is trustworthy.

[1070]*1070¶ 11. The trial court excluded the accident report, finding that Officer Keller’s investigation was insufficient to reach a trustworthy conclusion as to fault in causing the accident. We review a trial court’s decision to admit or exclude evidence for an abuse of discretion. Mingo v. State, 944 So.2d 18, 28 (¶ 27) (Miss.2006).

¶ 12. To analyze trustworthiness, the Mississippi Supreme Court has endorsed the following four considerations: “(1) the timeliness of the investigation; (2) the investigator’s skill or experience; (3) whether a hearing was held; and (4) possible bias when reports are prepared with a view to possible litigation.” Rebelwood, 48 So.3d at 493 (¶ 44) (citing Beech Aircraft Corp. v. Rainey, 488 U.S. 153, 168 n. 11, 109 S.Ct. 439, 102 L.Ed.2d 445 (1988)).

¶ 13. The first, third, and fourth Rebel-wood factors are not at issue in this case. The only relevant concern is the officer’s skill and experience or, more precisely, their application to the investigation in this case.

¶ 14. Officer Keller was called to testify, outside the presence of the jury, regarding how he prepared the accident report. He admitted that he had no recollection of the investigation, despite efforts to refresh his memory by reviewing the report. He was only able to say what he would ordinarily have done to prepare a similar report.

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87 So. 3d 1067, 2011 WL 3452121, 2011 Miss. App. LEXIS 471, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rhoda-v-weathers-missctapp-2011.