Rivera-Marrero v. Presbyterian Community Hospital

255 F. Supp. 3d 290, 97 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1631, 2017 WL 2537351, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89935
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedJune 12, 2017
DocketCivil No. 14-1922 (DRD)
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 255 F. Supp. 3d 290 (Rivera-Marrero v. Presbyterian Community Hospital) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rivera-Marrero v. Presbyterian Community Hospital, 255 F. Supp. 3d 290, 97 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1631, 2017 WL 2537351, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89935 (prd 2017).

Opinion

[292]*292OPINION AND ORDER

DANIEL R. DOMÍNGUEZ, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Pending before the Court is a Motion in Limine filed by Defendants Dr. Rebecca Velázquez-Álvarez and Optimum Ob-Gyn, LLC (Docket No. 96), which was opposed by Plaintiff (Docket No. 101) and replied by Defendants (Docket No. 104).

In synthesis, Defendants seek to limit Plaintiffs expert witness, Dr. Howard Cohn from expanding or making additional allegations or conclusions in his testimony other than those contained on his expert report, the Complaint or Pre-Trial Order. See Docket No. 96 p. 18. These are: (1) two new deviations from standards of care regarding the operative technique used by Dr. Velazquez during the cesarean section performed on Plaintiff and; (2) lack of informed consent from Plaintiff. See Docket No. 96 p. 4 ¶ 4.

For the reasons stated herein, the Court GRANTS in part, DENIES in part Defendants’ Motion in limine (Docket No. 96).

I. APPLICABLE LAW

A. Relevance in General

The Court begins by analyzing several basic principles that expound upon general relevance under Fed. R. Evid. 401. First, evidence is “relevant” if it has a tendency “to make a fact more or less probable than it would be without the evidence.” Joseph W. Cotchett, Federal Courtroom Evidence § 401.2 (Mathew Bender, 5th Ed.) (citing Fed. R. Evid. 401). Proffered evidence is not relevant if it does not prove or disprove a matter at issue or does not “assist the trier of fact in determining [any] facts necessary to its decision[.]” Id. Hence, evidence is relevant “if it makes it more probable that a consequential fact is true.” Id. at § 401.3 (citing United States v. Mar-dirosian, 602 F.3d 1, 11 (1st Cir. 2010), cert. denied, 562 U.S. 893, 131 S.Ct, 287, 178 L.Ed.2d 141 (2010)). Proffered evidence is also “relevant if it makes it more probable that a consequential fact is not true.” Id. (“Evidence that roofer received no complaints of injuiies caused by fumes after using roof adhesive was relevant to causation of plaintiff’s injuries because it made it less probable that plaintiffs claim that fumes caused allergic reactions was true.”) (citing Varano v. Jabar, 197 F.3d 1, 4-5 (1st Cir. 1999)). The admission of relevant evidence is to be analyzed under a “liberal standard of admissibility.” Id. at § 401.4 (citing Ferrara & DiMercurio v. St. Paul Mercury Ins. Co., 240 F.3d 1, 6 (1st Cir. 2001)). Any perceived weakness of the proffered evidence usually “go[es] to its weight, not to its relevance or admissibility.” Id Moving on, Federal Rule of Evidence 402 states that the general rule of admissibility of relevant evidence under Federal Rule 401 persists unless otherwise provided by: the constitution of the United States, a federal statute, the Federal Rules of Evidence, or other rules prescribed by the Supreme Court. M. at § 402.2 (citing Fed. R. Evid. 402). Having described the general policy whereby relevant evidence is to be deemed admissible, the Court now provides the general standards of the most common exception.

Federal Rule of Evidence 403 authorizes the trial court to exclude evidence — that is otherwise admissible under Rule 401— when the probative value of the proffered evidence “is substantially outweighed by the danger of one or more of the following: unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, wasting time, or needlessly presenting cumulative evidence.” (emphasis provided). Prior to coming to an ultimate determination under Rule.403, the Court must perform “a balancing analysis” whereby the proba[293]*293tive value of a piece of evidence is weighed against its potential of: producing, unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading the jury, creating undue delay, and/or being unnecessarily repetitive. See Federal ■Courtroom Evidence at 403.2.1. Performing the balancing act is only the beginning; the Court then must carefully review the potential results. Under Rule 403, the Court is authorized to exclude relevant evidence only when its probative value is substantially outweighed by one or more 403 factor, (emphasis by the treatise, Cotchet Federal Courtroom Evidence (Id.)).

The exclusion of evidence is not the general rule; to the contrary, the “trial court’s discretion to exclude relevant evidence under Rule 403 should be exercised with recognition that exclusion is extraordinary and to be invoked sparingly.” Id. at § 403.2.1 (emphasis in original); Harrington v. Hiller, 883 F.2d 411, 414 (5th Cir. 1989) (“probative evidence should be ‘sparingly’ excluded”); United States v. Grant, 256 F.3d 1146, 1155 (11th Cir. 2001) (“Rule 403 is extraordinary remedy whose ‘major function ... is limited to excluding matter of scant or cumulative probative force .... ’ ”); United States v. Dodds, 347 F.3d 893, 897 (11th Cir. 2003) (“trial court’s discretion to exclude relevant evidence under Rule 403 should be exercised with recognition that exclusion is extraordinary and to be invoked, sparingly, with trial court striking the balance in favor of admission in most cases”).1

“Because Rule 403 requires ‘on-the-spot balancing1 of. probative value. and prejudice, potentially excluding as unfairly prejudicial evidence that, nevertheless, is factually relevant,” most, if not all, circuits review a trial court’s determination using a “deferential standard.” Id. at § 403.2.1 (citing Sprint/United Management Co. v. Mendelsohn, 552 U.S. 379, 128 S.Ct. 1140, 1145, 170 L.Ed.2d 1 (2008) (“trial court ‘virtually always’ is in a better position to assess admissibility of evidence”)). The Court is reviewed under an abuse of-discretion standard. Id. (citing Gomez v. Rivera Rodriguez, 344 F.3d 103, 115 (1st Cir. 2003)).

The Court must provide any party that would be prejudiced by a determination to exclude evidence the right to express its position. Id. at § 4Ó3.2.1 (citing United States v. Brooks, 145 F.3d 446, 454-55 (1st Cir. 1998)). In the instant case, the prejudiced party' is the one that attempts to proffer the evidence; however, both parties have provided their positions. A brief exposition .of these legal arguments is included in the following section when necessary.

II. PROPOSED EXCLUSIONS

A.

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255 F. Supp. 3d 290, 97 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1631, 2017 WL 2537351, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89935, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rivera-marrero-v-presbyterian-community-hospital-prd-2017.