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Dyet v. McKinley12/4/2003
rgues that the statute cannot be construed to include the write-off as a collateral source, and as such, should be admissible at trial. McKinley maintains that misstating the total amount paid for the medical expenses artificially inflates the damages awarded by the jury.
The district court followed a rule adopted by many states with statutes similar to that of Idaho. Citing Kastick v. U-Haul, 740 N.Y.S.2d 167, 292 A.D.2d 797 (2002) and Loncar v. Gray, 28 P.3d 928 (Alaska 2001), the district court stated that "these jurisdictions hold that while Medicare write-offs are technically not payments from a collateral source, plaintiffs may not recover the amount of the write-off from a tortfeasor because it was not an item of damages for which the plaintiff ever became obligated."
Neither the language of I.C. § 6-1606 nor its Statement of Purpose specifically deal with write-offs, but the district court's reasoning is sound. By treating a Medicare write-off as a collateral source, the danger of prejudice contemplated in I.R.E. 403 is avoided, and the jury will not be influenced by the existence of Medicare. At the same time, the policy of I.C. § 6-1606 contained in both the statute and the legislative history to prevent a double payment for the damages is preserved. Although the write-off is not technically a collateral source, it is the type of windfall that I.C. § 6-1606 was designed to prevent. As reasoned by the New York court in Kastick, "Although the write-off technically is not a payment from a collateral source within the meaning of [the collateral source statute], it is not an item of damages for which plaintiff may recover because plaintiff has incurred no liability therefore." Id., 740 N.Y.S.2d at 169, 292 A.D.2d at 798.
III. THE DISTRICT COURT DID NOT ERR IN DENYING MCKINLEY'S MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL
A. Standard of Review
When reviewing a trial court's ruling on a motion for new trial, this Court applies an abuse of discretion standard. State v. Davis, 127 Idaho 62, 896 P.2d 970 (1995). A trial court has wide discretion to grant or refuse to grant a new trial, and on appeal this Court will not disturb that exercise of discretion absent a showing of manifest abuse. State v. Olin, 103 Idaho 391, 648 P.2d 203 (1982). In State v. Hedger, 115 Idaho 598, 768 P.2d 1331 (1989), this Court set out the test for evaluating whether a trial court has abused its discretion:
(1) whether the lower court rightly perceived the issue as one of discretion; (2) whether the court acted within the outer boundaries of such discretion and consistently with any legal standards applicable to specific choices; and (3) whether the court reached its decision by an exercise of reason. Id. at 600, 768 P.2d at 1333 (quoting Associates Northwest, Inc. v. Beets, 112 Idaho 603, 605, 733 P.2d 824, 826 (Ct.App.1987)).
I.R.C.P. 59(a) states that a new trial may be granted to all or any of the parties and on all or part of the issues in an action for any of the following reasons:
à
(5) Excessive damages or inadequate damages, appearing to have been given under the influence of passion or prejudice.
(6) Insufficiency of the evidence to justify the verdict or other decision, or that it is against the law.
(7) Error in law, occurring at the trial.
B. The district court acted within its discretion in denying McKinley a new trial. McKinley moved for a new trial, contending that the inadmissibility of the Medicare write-offs unfairly prejudiced him, speculating that the medical expenses presented to the jury undoubtedly inflated the general damages award given by the jury. The district court disa
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