THE COURTS
Title 225--RULES
OF EVIDENCE
[225 PA. CODE ART. IV]
Proposed Amendment of Rule 408 and Revision of Comment
[37 Pa.B. 3223]
[Saturday, July 14, 2007]The Committee on Rules of Evidence is planning to recommend that the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania approve the Amendment of Pa.R.E. 408 and Revision of Comment. The changes are being proposed to adopt certain changes as a consequence of the adoption of new F.R.E. 408.
This proposal has not been submitted for review by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Additions are bold, and deletions are in bold and brackets.
We request that interested persons submit suggestions, comments, or objections concerning this proposal to the Committee through counsel:
Richard L. Kearns, Staff Counsel
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Committee on Rules of Evidence
5035 Ritter Road, Suite 700
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055no later than August 17, 2007.
By the Committee on Rules of Evidence
SANDRA D. JORDAN,
Chair
Annex A
TITLE 225. RULES OF EVIDENCE
ARTICLE IV. RELEVANCY AND ITS LIMITS Rule 408. Compromise and Offers to Compromise.
[Evidence of (1) furnishing or offering or promising to furnish, or (2) accepting or offering or promising to accept, a valuable consideration in compromising or attempting to compromise a claim which was disputed as to either validity or amount, is not admissible to prove liability for or invalidity of the claim or its amount. Evidence of conduct or statements made in compromise negotiations is likewise not admissible. This rule does not require the exclusion of any evidence otherwise discoverable merely because it is presented in the course of compromise negotiations. This rule also does not require exclusion when the evidence is offered for another purpose, such as proving bias or prejudice of a witness, negating a contention of undue delay, or proving an effort to obstruct a criminal investigation or prosecution.
Comment This rule is identical to F.R.E. 408.
The 2000 amendments abolish the common law rule that distinct admissions of fact made during settlement discussions are admissible, see Rochester Marine Corp. v. Mulach Steel Corp., 449 A.2d 1366 (Pa. 1982) (plurality), bringing Pennsylvania in line with F.R.E. 408 and most of the states.
The 2000 amendments are consistent with the Mediation Act of 1996. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 5949 (Confidential mediation communications and documents).
Like the federal rule, Pa.R.E. 408 permits evidence relating to compromises and offers to compromise to be admitted for purposes other than proving liability, such as showing bias or prejudice. See Heyman v. Hanauer, 152 A. 910 (Pa. 1930) (if proposal was offer to settle, it could have been used to impeach witness).
Pa.R.E. 408 is consistent with 42 Pa.C.S. § 6141 which provides, in pertinent part, as follows:
§ 6141. Effect of certain settlements
(a) Personal injuries.--Settlement with or any payment made to an injured person or to others on behalf of such injured person with the permission of such injured person or to anyone entitled to recover damages on account of injury or death of such person shall not constitute an admission of liability by the person making the payment or on whose behalf the payment was made, unless the parties to such settlement or payment agree to the contrary.
(b) Damages to property.--Settlement with or any payment made to a person or on his behalf to others for damages to or destruction of property shall not constitute an admission of liability by the person making the payment or on whose behalf the payment was made, unless the parties to such settlement or payment agree to the contrary.
(c) Admissibility in evidence.--Except in an action in which final settlement and release has been pleaded as a complete defense, any settlement or payment referred to in subsections (a) and (b) shall not be admissible in evidence on the trial of any matter.
See Hatfield v. Continental Imports, Inc., 610 A.2d 446 (Pa. 1992) (evidence of ''Mary Carter'' agreement admissible to show bias or prejudice, and not excluded by § 6141(c)).
Under Pa.R.E. 408, as under F.R.E. 408, evidence of offers to compromise or completed compromises is admissible when used to prove an effort to obstruct a criminal investigation or prosecution. This is consistent with prior Pennsylvania case law. See Commonwealth v. Pettinato, 520 A.2d 437 (Pa. Super. 1987). Pa.R.E. 408 does not permit, however, the use of evidence relating to good faith compromises or offers to compromise when made for the purpose of reaching an agreement such as those sanctioned by Pa.R.Crim.P. 586 (relating to dismissal of criminal charges not committed by force or violence upon payment of restitution) or Pa.R.Crim.P. 546 (relating to dismissal upon satisfaction or agreement). The court may need to conduct, out of the hearing of the jury, a preliminary inquiry into the circumstances surrounding compromises in criminal matters to determine whether to permit such evidence.]
(a) Prohibited uses. Evidence of the following is not admissible on behalf of any party, when offered to prove liability for, invalidity of, or amount of a claim that was disputed as to validity or amount, or to impeach through a prior inconsistent statement or contradiction:
(1) furnishing or offering or promising to furnish--or accepting or offering or promising to accept--a valuable consideration in compromising or attempting to compromise the claim; and
(2) conduct or statements made in compromise negotiations.
(b) Permitted uses. This rule does not require exclusion if the evidence is offered for purposes not prohibited by subdivision (a). Examples of permissible purposes include proving a witness's bias or prejudice, negating a contention of undue delay; and proving an effort to obstruct a criminal investigation or prosecution. This rule does not require the exclusion of any evidence otherwise discoverable merely because it is presented in the course of compromise negotiations.
Comment This rule differs from to F.R.E. 408 as follows:
The federal rule in paragraph (a)(2) permits the use in criminal cases of statements made to government investigators, regulators, or enforcement authority in negotiations in civil cases.
The federal rule does not contain the last sentence of Pa.R.E. 408(b).
This rule does not follow the common law rule that distinct admissions of fact made during settlement discussions are admissible. See Rochester Marine Corp. v. Mulach Steel Corp., 449 A.2d 1366 (Pa. 1982). Instead, like the federal rule, Pa.R.E. 408 permits evidence relating to compromises and offers to compromise to be admitted for purposes other than proving liability, such as showing bias or prejudice of a witness, but specifically prohibits use of such evidence to impeach a witness through a prior inconsistent statement or contradiction.
The rule is consistent with the Mediation Act of 1996. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 5949 (Confidential mediation communications and documents).
Pa.R.E. 408 is consistent with 42 Pa.C.S. § 6141 which provides, in pertinent part, as follows:
§ 6141. Effect of certain settlements
(a) Personal Injuries. Settlement with or any payment made to an injured person or to others on behalf of such injured person with the permission of such injured person or to anyone entitled to recover damages on account of injury or death of such person shall not constitute an admission of liability by the person making the payment or on whose behalf the payment was made, unless the parties to such settlement or payment agree to the contrary.
(b) Damages to Property. Settlement with or any payment made to a person or on his behalf to others for damages to or destruction of property shall not constitute an admission of liability by the person making the payment or on whose behalf the payment was made, unless the parties to such settlement or payment agree to the contrary.
(c) Admissibility in Evidence. Except in an action in which final settlement and release has been pleaded as a complete defense, any settlement or payment referred to in subsections (a) and (b) shall not be admissible in evidence on the trial of any matter.
See Hatfield v. Continental Imports, Inc., 610 A.2d 446 (Pa. 1992)(evidence of ''Mary Carter'' agreement admissible to show bias or prejudice, and not excluded by § 6141(c)).
Under Pa.R.E. 408, as under F.R.E. 408, evidence of offers to compromise or completed compromises is admissible when used to prove an effort to obstruct a criminal investigation or prosecution. This is consistent with prior Pennsylvania case law. See Commonwealth v. Pettinato, 520 A.2d 437 (Pa. Super. 1987). Pa.R.E. 408 does not permit, however, the use of evidence relating to good faith compromises or offers to compromise when made for the purpose of reaching an agreement such as those sanctioned by Pa.R.Crim.P. 586 (relating to dismissal of criminal charges not committed by force or violence upon payment of restitution) or Pa.R.Crim.P. 546 (relating to dismissal upon satisfaction or agreement). The court may need to conduct, out of the hearing of the jury, a preliminary inquiry into the circumstances surrounding compromises in criminal matters to determine whether to permit such evidence.
REPORT
Proposed Amendments to Pa.R.E. 408 and Revision of Comment Compromise and Offers to Compromise The language of Federal Rule of Evidence 408 was changed substantially. The changes were aimed at clarifying the meaning of the rule, and answering several questions that had arisen in the application of the rule. Prior to the amendment, Pa.R.E. 408 was identical to the federal rule. We recommend that we adopt some, but not all of the changes. First, we recommend the adoption of the changes aimed at clarifying the meaning of the rule. Essentially, this is accomplished by breaking up one long paragraph into several, and placing in the first paragraph some language that was previously in the middle of the paragraph. These changes have no substantive impact.
The second change in the rule is the language at the end of the first paragraph, prohibiting the use of the prohibited evidence to impeach through a prior inconsistent statement or contradiction. This had been a question in the federal courts. May a witness (usually a party) be impeached with a statement made during compromise negotiations that is arguably inconsistent with the witness's trial testimony? The federal courts had been split on this question. The federal drafters amended the rule, so that it now prohibits the use of statements made in negotiations as inconsistent statements. The drafters believed this was most consistent with the purpose of the rule, which is to encourage parties to engage in frank and open negotiations in order to compromise disputes. There is no authority on this question in Pennsylvania. We think that the federal drafter's approach is better, and, therefore, recommend adoption of this portion of the rule.
The federal rule in paragraph (a)(2) permits the use in criminal cases of statements made to government investigators, regulators, or enforcement authority in negotiations in civil cases. We do not recommend the adoption of this portion of the federal rule, because we believe it will deter parties in civil matters from frank and open negotiations with government regulators, if there is a risk that their statements will then be used in criminal prosecutions.
The last sentence of the proposed rule was deleted from the federal rule, because it was believed to be superfluous. We recommend its retention as a precaution against frivolous argument.
We have not used the usual markup signals for the changes to the proposed Rule and Comment, because the changes are so many that the documents would be difficult to read.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 07-1225. Filed for public inspection July 13, 2007, 9:00 a.m.]
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