McCalla v. Nord
- Kandis Westmore
- 4:22-cv-00675
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 8
In McCalla v. Nord, Judge Westmore ruled on objections to trial exhibits, overruling most and sustaining others in part.
Richard A McCalla and James Nord, particularly their presentation of the identified trial exhibits.
What happened
In McCalla v. Nord, Defendant James Nord objected to 20 of Plaintiff Richard A. McCalla’s proposed trial exhibits on grounds including relevance, hearsay, lack of authentication, and late production. McCalla responded, and the court addressed the objections at the pretrial conference.
The court overruled the objections to Exhibits 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 20, 37, 39, 40, 49, 113, 117, 120, 121, 123, 126, and 127, subject to specified motions in limine for some exhibits. It sustained Nord’s objection to Exhibit 124 and sustained the objection to Exhibit 122 in part, excluding photos produced on or after September 26, 2023. It also sustained the objection to Exhibit 125 in part, excluding items that predated Nord’s tenure as trustee.
Judge Kandis Westmore issued the November 8, 2023 order resolving Nord’s objections to the trial exhibits.
The detailed version
- McCalla v. Nord · No. 4:22-cv-00675
- Kandis Westmore
- Nov. 8, 2023
Background
Nord objected to 20 of McCalla’s proposed trial exhibits. The objections invoked rules concerning relevance, unfair prejudice, hearsay, authentication, expert testimony, incomplete records, summaries of voluminous materials, and late production during discovery. McCalla filed a response, and the court ruled on the objections at the pretrial conference.
Rulings
The court overruled Nord’s objections to the following exhibits:
- Exhibits 4, 5, 6, and 7: Reports and email strings concerning events before the relevant period. Nord challenged their relevance, prejudice, foundation, authentication, and hearsay. - Exhibit 10: A capacity declaration concerning Thomas McCalla. Nord argued that the document lacked foundation and that testimony about it would improperly present expert opinions through a lay witness. - Exhibit 20: An email concerning events before the relevant period, challenged on relevance, foundation, authentication, and hearsay grounds. - Exhibits 37, 39, and 40: Deeds and sales data. The court overruled the objections subject to Nord’s Motion in Limine No.
- - Exhibit 49: An Internal Revenue Service notice concerning Thomas R. McCalla. - Exhibit 113: Pacific Gas and Electric bills. The ruling was subject to Nord’s Motion in Limine No.
- - Exhibit 117: Tax notices and tax payments. - Exhibits 120 and 121: Appraisals. The rulings were subject to Nord’s Motion in Limine No.
- The order stated that an appraisal offered to prove property value is hearsay when offered for the truth of the asserted value, but nevertheless listed the objections as overruled subject to that motion-in-limine order. - Exhibit 123: A closing disclosure, subject to Nord’s Motion in Limine No.
- - Exhibit 126: An American Express statement for Rick McCalla, subject to Nord’s Motion in Limine No.
- - Exhibit 127: An expert witness report and curriculum vitae for Varee Wycoff, subject to Nord’s Motion in Limine No.
- Nord challenged the report under Federal Rule of Evidence 702, including its factual basis, methods, and application of those methods.
The court sustained Nord’s objection to Exhibit 124, repair invoices, subject to Motion in Limine No. 4. The order did not provide a further limitation in the ruling column beyond referring to that separate order.
The court sustained Nord’s objection to Exhibit 122 in part, concerning photographs of the Napa property. Only the photographs produced on or after September 26, 2023, were excluded under the referenced order on motions in limine.
The court sustained Nord’s objection to Exhibit 125 in part, a spreadsheet of expenses advanced by Rick McCalla. Only items that predated Nord’s tenure as trustee were excluded.
Disposition and significance
This was an evidentiary pretrial order resolving objections to proposed trial exhibits. It did not decide the parties’ underlying claims. The order’s rulings were: objections overruled for Exhibits 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 20, 37, 39, 40, 49, 113, 117, 120, 121, 123, 126, and 127; objection sustained for Exhibit 124; and objections sustained in part for Exhibits 122 and 125. Some rulings were expressly subject to separate orders on motions in limine.
Read the full 8-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.