Jones v. Indian Harbor Insurance Company ( 2022 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA TYRONE JONES CIVIL ACTION VERSUS NO: 20-1201 INDIAN HARBOR INSURANCE CO. SECTION “H” ORDER AND REASONS Before the Court are Defendant Indian Harbor Insurance Co.’s Motion in Limine (Doc. 17) and Motion to Strike (Doc. 18). For the following reasons, the Motion in Limine is GRANTED, and the Motion to Strike is DENIED. BACKGROUND This matter arises out of an automobile accident in which the car that Plaintiff Tyrone Jones was driving was struck in a hit and run by an unknown driver. Plaintiff alleges that at the time of the accident Defendant Indian Harbor Insurance Co. had issued a policy that provided him with uninsured motorist coverage. Trial in this matter is set for May 9, 2022. Defendant has moved to (1) limit reference in front of the jury to insurance policy limits, and 1 (2) strike Plaintiff’s untimely witness and exhibit list. This Court will consider each motion in turn. LAW AND ANALYSIS A. Motion in Limine to Exclude Reference to Insurance Policy Limits Defendant moves for an order excluding any reference at trial regarding its policy limits as irrelevant. Plaintiff has not opposed this Motion. It is well settled that where there is not a dispute over policy limits, such information is not probative of liability or damages and is therefore properly excluded.1 Defendant’s Motion is GRANTED. B. Motion to Strike Witness and Exhibits List Next, Defendant moves to strike Plaintiff’s witness and exhibits list as untimely. The deadline to file witness and exhibits lists in this matter was April 14, 2021. Plaintiff did not file his witness and exhibits list until June 3, 2021—shortly after the filing of this Motion. The Court does not, however, find any prejudice to Defendant for this delay. First, the individuals included in Plaintiff’s witness list are the same as those identified in his initial disclosures in November 2020. These individuals were also included in Defendant’s 1 See Corbin v. Hagan, No. 06-11447, 2007 WL 3268466, at *1 (E.D. La. Oct. 19, 2007) (“Under Rule 411 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, ‘evidence that a person was or was not insured against liability is not admissible upon the issue of whether the person acted negligently or otherwise wrongfully.’ This exclusion encompasses policy limits, as they are necessarily an indication of insurance. Accordingly, the Court excludes any evidence of defendants’ insurance policy.”). 2 witness and exhibits list. Further, trial in this matter was continued from August 9, 2021 to May 9, 2022. Accordingly, this Motion is DENIED. CONCLUSION For the foregoing reasons, the Motion in Limine is GRANTED, and the Motion to Strike is DENIED. New Orleans, Louisiana this 26th day of January, 2022. □□□ TRICHE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE