Practice Tip: Use Caution When Relying on Governmental Reports

Such reports are usually more extensive than a privately funded investigation. Governmental reports are often heavily relied upon as the basis of a products liability action or defense in those jurisdictions that permit such reports in evidence. In federal cases, such reports are admissible pursuant to FRE 803(8) “Public Records and Reports.” This section makes admissible all records, reports and data in any form by any public officer or agency unless the source of information indicates lack of trustworthiness. Lawyers often make these reports the lynchpin of their entire case. You can imagine the chagrin of any trial lawyer when, on the eve of trial, a motion in limine is granted excluding the report based on untrustworthiness.

Such a situation arose for both sides in the recent case of Jones v. Ford Motor Company, 320 F. Supp. 2d 440 (E.D.Va., 2004). In that case, the plaintiff was injured when a motor vehicle manufactured by the defendant suddenly accelerated rearward. She claimed a transient electrical signal from an unidentified vehicle component injected itself into the cruise control system and pulled open the gas throttle and also alleged that the sudden acceleration left no physical evidence of any malfunction. The plaintiff had originally brought her action in Virginia state court, where the jury returned a verdict against her. The Virginia Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case for a new trial; however, believing she had a better chance in a federal setting, the plaintiff recommenced her case in the U.S. District Court in Virginia rather than go back to state court.