 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
LARSEN v. JOHNSON5/14/1998
e aggregations of [several] factors without any guidance for the jury to determine how much, if any, represented the residual injuries which defendants sought to establish," the Iowa Supreme Court concluded that such evidence lacked probative value and was highly prejudicial Id. at 733-34.
Thus, both the substantial evidence in the record revealing that defendant's negligence did not proximately cause plaintiff's injuries and plaintiff's explanation of her prior settlement figures make the likelihood of a different outcome, as a result of the trial court's error, quite low. Accordingly, the trial court's error does not undermine our confidence in the verdict and does not require reversal. Cf. First Gen. Servs. v. Perkins, 918 P.2d 480, 485 (Utah Ct.App. 1996) ("In light of the substantial evidence supporting the other parties' claims and defenses, any error in admitting the challenged evidence was harmless in that 'there is no reasonable likelihood that the error [if any] affected the outcome of the proceedings.' " (quoting Hamilton, 827 P.2d at 240) (alteration in original)).
CONCLUSION
First, because any error would not have been obvious, we hold that the trial court did not commit plain error in admitting evidence of the prior lawsuit. Second, we conclude that, under the facts of this case, evidence of the settlement amount of the prior lawsuit was irrelevant, and thus, the trial court abused its discretion in admitting such evidence. However, because the likelihood of a different outcome as a result of the trial court's error is low, we hold that such error is harmless. Thus, the trial court's judgment is affirmed.
BILLINGS and GREENWOOD, JJ., concur.
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 Utah Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|