Ensuring Prior Bad Acts Come Into Evidence in Personal Injury Cases: Strategies for Plaintiffs and Defendants
A live 90-minute CLE video webinar with interactive Q&A
This CLE course will guide personal injury lawyers on how to leverage too often overlooked in civil cases Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b) to get valuable evidence admitted and why the quest for such evidence can lead to other admissible evidence or influence settlement. The panel will discuss the rule and its exceptions; how to uncover prior bad acts or incidents; how to get that evidence admitted and best strategies for excluding it; and how to not overlook this rule in personal injury cases.
Outline
- What evidence FRE 404(b) covers
- What evidence is never implicated by FRE 404(b)
- Admissibility
- Proper evidentiary purpose
- Relevant
- Probative value vs. prejudice
- Proper limiting instruction
- Application in different types of cases
Benefits
The panel will review these and other pressing issues:
- Has the definition of "bad acts" changed over time?
- What standard should be applied when reviewing Rule 404(b) proper purpose determinations?
- Do the rules governing the admissibility of character evidence apply to corporations or other entities?
- What does it mean that Rule 404(b) is a rule of inclusion rather than exclusion?
- What is "reverse" FRE 404(b) evidence?
- What objections can be expected?
Faculty
Christopher G. Campbell
Partner
DLA Piper
Mr. Campbell is a partner in the firm’s Product Liability and Mass Tort practice. He has experience in all phases... | Read More
Mr. Campbell is a partner in the firm’s Product Liability and Mass Tort practice. He has experience in all phases of litigation, including first-chairing jury and bench trials in state and federal courts and arguing appeals. He is co-author of the book Expert Witnesses: Products Liability Cases (West 2009), an in-depth guide to expert witness development in all types of product liability and mass tort matters, including pharmaceutical, toxic torts, automotive, industrial accidents and children's and consumer products.
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William F. Kiniry, III
Attorney
DLA Piper
Mr. Kiniry is engaged in a broad-based litigation practice focused on product liability, medical malpractice,... | Read More
Mr. Kiniry is engaged in a broad-based litigation practice focused on product liability, medical malpractice, internal investigations and regulatory compliance. He has first chair trial experience with automotive product liability litigation, particularly warranty litigation where he has appeared in nearly every court in the State of Maryland. Mr. Kiniry's practice is centered on the preparation, trial, and appeal of civil litigation cases, including conducting internal investigations in reconstructing and explicating the “company story” with respect to involvement with legacy products such as asbestos; responding to and conducting discovery in mass tort (asbestos) litigation; the representation of a major health care system and its practitioners in a variety of contexts; representation of major pharmaceutical manufacturers, as well as manufacturers and distributors of automobiles and heavy construction equipment.
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Cory Sidelsky
Attorney
DLA Piper
Ms. Sidelsky is a civil litigator with a wide range of experience. His practice primarily focuses on the areas of mass... | Read More
Ms. Sidelsky is a civil litigator with a wide range of experience. His practice primarily focuses on the areas of mass tort and product liability litigation. Mr. Sidelsky's practice involves both local litigation and the assistance with national coordination for claims of injury as a result of allegedly defective products.
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