AHMED HASSAN, ET AL. VS. ROLAND WILLIAMS, ET AL. (L-0213-16, OCEAN COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (A-3336-18)
In this motor vehicle negligence case, defendant Roland Williams, a driver for defendant ABF Freight System, Inc., rear-ended plaintiff Ahmed Hassan, a driver for FedEx. A defense expert opined that Hassan cut in front of Williams at a slow speed. The jury found both drivers negligent, but Hassan slightly more so, and the court entered a no cause judgment.
On appeal, the court holds that the trial judge erroneously excluded statements by ABF officials that Williams could have prevented the accident, he drove recklessly, and he violated ABF safety protocols. These were all statements of a party opponent. N.J.R.E. 803(b). The judge's reasoning that the statements should be excluded because they went to the "ultimate issue" was at odds with N.J.R.E. 704. The judge correctly excluded evidence that ABF discharged Williams, but he did so for the wrong reason; it was inadmissible because it was a subsequent remedial measure under N.J.R.E. 407. However, the investigatory finding that led to the discharge decision was not a subsequent remedial measure. Also, the probative value of the ABF officials' statements was not substantially outweighed by the risk of undue prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury. Given the closeness of the jury's comparative negligence findings, the trial court's mistaken exclusion of the statements warrants a new trial.
