Lead Opinion
ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI
for the Court:
¶ 1. The plaintiff in this automobile-accident lawsuit sued her underinsured-motorist insurance carrier. Even though the UM carrier admitted liability and agreed to pay any damages awarded at trial that exceeded available liability coverage, the plaintiff insisted on informing the jury of the insurance company’s status as a defendant. The trial judge refused to allow it. We affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
¶2. Stephen Merrill crashed into the back of Cheri and Mike Heflin’s automobile. Cheri sued Merrill’s estate
[wjhether or not UM coverage exists is not relevant. And it’s the court’s opinion that introducing- that issue along with the existence of Nationwide Insur-anee Company to the jury would potentially prejudice that jury as to a determination of damages.
¶3. During the trial, the judge sustained two defense evidentiary objections to Merrill’s statement about being sorry for the accident and Mike’s opinion about how fast Merrill’s car was going.
¶ 4. Mike was prepared to testify that after the accident Merrill said, “God, I’m sorry, it was my fault.” The defense made a hearsay objection and the trial judge ultimately sustained the objection. The trial judge acknowledged that the statement was not hearsay
¶ 5. Mike also was prepared to give his opinion of Merrill’s speed before the accident. The plaintiff argued that Mike was uniquely qualified to give this lay opinion based on his “experience in [ ] dealing with wrecks in the past in the process of pursing claims in his role as a Nationwide auto insurance agent,” and as a result of the “many wrecks he’s been involved in and how many claims he’s filed.” The trial judge also excluded this testimony.
¶ 6. After the jury awarded Cheri $32,-500 — well under Merrill’s liability policy limits — Cheri filed a motion for a new trial or additur. The trial court denied the motions.
¶ 7. Cheri appealed, arguing that the trial court erred by not disclosing Nationwide’s identity, sustaining the two eviden-tiary objections, and not granting the post-trial motions. The Court of Appeals affirmed, finding that “there was no reason for the jury to consider the Nationwide UM policy,” and “[ajdmitting such evidence could only serve to possibly inflate or deflate a verdict or confuse the jury.”
ANALYSIS
¶ 8. The main issue presented is one of first impression in Mississippi. There is debate among members of our Bar as to whether informing the jury of an uninsured-or underinsured-motorist carrier’s role as a party is required, and whether the fact of that role is evidence, or simply a matter within the purview of a trial judge in controlling the courtroom and trial. We hold that it is both.
I. The trial court properly excluded Nationwide’s identity and role in the trial.
¶ 9. This Court reviews a trial court’s exclusion of evidence under an abuse-of-discretion standard, and where we find a trial court has erred, we will not reverse unless the error adversely affects a party’s substantial right.
A. Purpose and Relevance of Nationwide’s Role
¶ 10. To be admissible in its role as evidence, the fact of Nationwide’s role
¶ 11. The admissibility of all evidence begins with an examination of its purpose. We are unable to discern the purpose or relevance of Nationwide’s role, and it is noteworthy that Cheri suggests no purpose or theory of relevance for us to analyze. Indeed, where insurance is concerned, our rules of evidence provide that “[e]vidence that a person was or was not insured against liability is not admissible upon the issue whether he acted negligently or otherwise wrongfully.”
¶ 12. We agree with the view of the Supreme Court of New Jersey that, “in the context of a [underinsured motorist] trial, in which the circumstances of the underlying accident are the focus, ... the insurer’s identity is ordinarily irrelevant,” and “[w]hether the jury knows the under-insured motorist insurer’s identity should have no impact on its evaluation of the extent of the plaintiffs injuries.”
¶ 13. The only issue in this case was the amount of Cheri’s damages. We see no reason for the jury to be informed of Nationwide’s role as Cheri’s underinsured motorist insurer. This information would have been of no help in deciding the issues before the jury; indeed, the trial judge would have risked a mistrial by allowing the plaintiff to use insurance to prove the defendant’s negligence.
¶ 14. We find Nationwide’s role in this case — insofar as the jury was concerned — was irrelevant. And, although irrelevant evidence occasionally finds its way into the record, it is never admissible un
B. Application of the Rule 403 Balancing Test to Nationwide’s Role
¶ 15. Even if Nationwide’s role had some minimal theory of relevance, it nevertheless properly would have been excluded under Rule 403, which requires exclusion of relevant evidence
if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence.14
f 16. We agree with the New Jersey court’s finding that informing the jury that a party provides underinsured motorist coverage on the plaintiffs car actually “increase[s] the risk of jury confusion[,] because the jury would first be told that the defendant is an insurer, but would then be advised that this is irrelevant and should play no role in their evaluation of the claim.”
C. Judges’ Control Over the Trial
¶ 17. The plaintiff also argues that it was “inherently unfair” for the jury not to know of Nationwide’s role in the litigation. The trial judge found nothing unfair about it. This Court has “unflagging support” for a trial judge’s power to control the progress of a trial.
¶ 18. The plaintiff correctly points out that our views are in disagreement with those of the Supreme Court of Florida, which holds that full disclosure of a under-insured motorist company’s identity at trial “protects the integrity of the jury system and prevents charades at trial.”
¶ 19. In short, the Florida approach creates the very real danger that juries will return “insurance verdicts,” and this danger is exactly what Mississippi Rule of Evidence 411 was designed to guard against. Identifying Nationwide as a party at trial would have been a backdoor attempt to use insurance to inflate the jury’s verdict; not decide the issue of Cheri’s damages.
¶ 20. Contrary to the dissent’s view, the trial court was not compelled by Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 10(a) to disclose Nationwide’s identity in the case. That rule, which does no more than to govern the style of a pleading, says nothing about informing the jury of any
¶ 21. The plaintiff suffered no prejudice here. Her right to bring claims against her underinsured motorist carrier and name the underinsured motorist carrier as a party under Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure 18, 19, and 20, and Mississippi Code Section 83-11-105 were protected; but those rights do not amount to carte balance license to use the insurer’s identity to increase the jury’s verdict. The issue in this case is about relevance; and here, Nationwide’s identity lacked any.
II. The trial judge committed no other reversible error in sustaining the two evidentiary objections and denying the post-trial motions.
¶ 22. Finally, we will briefly address Heflin’s other three issues. First, as to Merrill’s statement about being sorry for causing the accident, we are unable to find that the trial judge abused his discretion by excluding this evidence under Mississippi Rule of Evidence 403. The trial court correctly recognized that the statement was not hearsay under Mississippi Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2) because it was a statement offered against a party opponent. But, because the only issue at trial was Cheri’s damages, the trial judge was well within his discretion to exclude the statement as being unduly prejudicial.
¶ 23. Second, as to Mike’s opinion about the speed of Merrill’s vehicle, the trial judge again was well within his discretion to exclude this testimony. Mississippi Rule of Evidence 701 provides in essence that “lay witness opinion [is limited] to those opinions or inferences which are rationally based on the perception of the witness and helpful to the clear understanding of his testimony or the determination of a fact in issue.”
¶ 24. When Mike was asked about seeing Merrill’s car before the accident, he testified he “glanced back and glanced in [his] rearview mirror ... [a]nd it was just a glance just before it happened.” Given this testimony, he appropriately was allowed to give his lay opinion that Merrill’s car “was barreling ■ down on top of us.” But allowing him to give the jury his opinion about the exact speed at which Merrill’s vehicle was traveling would have elevated his role from lay witness to that of an expert.
¶ 25. In an attempt to bolster Mike’s qualification to give a lay opinion about speed, the plaintiff cited Mike’s experience as an insurance agent. But Rule 701 prohibits lay opinions that are based on special training and knowledge.
¶ 26. Because we find no error in the trial court’s rulings on any of the eviden-tiary issues in this case, we find there was no cumulative error warranting a new trial or an additur; and that the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in denying the plaintiffs post-trial motions.
¶ 27. We hold as a matter of first impression that, in Mississippi, the proponent of evidence of the role of an uninsured-or underinsured-motorist carrier’s role in litigation over benefits due under the policy as a result of a tortfeasor’s negligence must demonstrate the relevance of the evidence and that it passes Rule 403’s balancing test. Because the plaintiff in this case' has failed to do so, we affirm the judgments of the trial court and the Court of Appeals. The trial judge committed no error in this case by excluding any reference to Nationwide and the other evidentiary rulings.
¶ 28. AFFIRMED.
Notes
. After the accident, Merrill passed away due to causes unrelated to the accident.
. See Miss. R. Evid. 801(d)(2)(a) (statements offered against opposing party are not hearsay).
. Heflin v. Merrill, No.2012-CA-00663-COA,
.James v. Carawan,
. Miss. R. Evid. 402.
. Miss. R. Evid. 401.
. Miss. R. Evid. 411.
. Capital City Ins. Co. v. G.B. "Boots” Smith Corp.,
. Capital City Ins. Co.,
. Bardis v. First Trenton Ins. Co.,
. See Mattingly v. Stinson,
.See Miss. R. Evid. 411.
. Miss. R. Evid. 402.
. Miss. R. Evid. 403.
. Bardis,
. Jackson v. State,
. Lamz v. Geico Gen. Ins. Co.,
. Id. at 597 (Wells, C J., dissenting).
. Roberts v. Grafe Auto. Co., Inc.,
. Miss. R. Evid. 702.
. Miss. R. Evid. 701(c) (providing that lay opinion may not be based on "scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge" within the scope of Rule 702).
. See Maddox v. Muirhead,
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting:
¶ 29. Because I disagree that the mere identity of a party who participates in a trial is “evidence” subject to exclusion, and because I believe that the trial court in this case erred by excluding the identity of a defendant who participated in the trial, I respectfully dissent.
¶ 30. This appeal stems from a motion in limine filed by Nationwide, requesting that the court exclude “any reference or comment before the venire or jury related to the insurance policy issued by Nationwide Insurance Company made the subject of this matter, and to exclude any evidence of the same.” (Emphasis added.) Nationwide maintained that it had “offered to stipulate that the policy ... was in full force and effect at the time of the subject accident and that [Nationwide] will be responsible for payment of any final judgment in excess of the liability coverage limit” of Merrill. It argued that the existence of the policy had no relevance to any issue decided by the jury. At the hearing on the motion, Nationwide argued that, in order to implement its motion, no mention of Nationwide whatsoever could be made at trial. According to Nationwide, it “would simply come off the pleadings. It would not be there. Then it would be a suit reflecting the true dispute, that being the amount of damages that the plaintiff is entitled to.... [T]he jury would not need to know why Nationwide is here because there would be no appearance that Nationwide was in fact here.” Nationwide argued that its participation at trial could be explained as Merrill simply having two lawyers, and stated that counsel for Nationwide would examine two of the expert witnesses on behalf of the defense. The court granted Nationwide’s motion in li-mine, preventing any mention of the “existence” of Nationwide during trial.
¶ 31. At trial, counsel for Nationwide participated in a videotaped deposition of the defense expert that was played for the jury. Counsel for Nationwide also conducted the voir dire of one of Heflin’s
¶ 32. At trial, Heflin introduced evidence that her out-of-pocket medical bills were approximately $40,000 and that she anticipated approximately $100,000 in future medical bills. She also claimed damages for pain and suffering. She ultimately requested that the jury award her damages totaling approximately $200,000. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Heflin in the amount of $32,500, and the trial court entered a judgment on the jury’s verdict. Heflin filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV), or in the alternative, for additur, or new trial. The trial court denied the motion, and Heflin appealed.
¶ 33. A divided Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court. The Court of Appeals held that the trial court was within its discretion “to exclude Nationwide’s policy because the parties stipulated that Nationwide would be responsible for any amount not covered by Allstate up to Hef-lin’s policy limits. Additionally, liability was not an issue in the case.... Admitting such evidence could only serve to possibly inflate or deflate a verdict or confuse the jury.” Heflin v. Merrill,
Heflin’s complaint asserted ... a contractual claim against Nationwide. Nationwide has defended its interests and fully participated throughout the litigation. Nationwide, even after this ruling, participated at trial by cross-examining a witness and making objections. The interests of justice require that the identity and role of Nationwide be revealed to the jury.
Id. at -,
¶ 34. Nationwide filed its motion in li-mine to exclude evidence of or reference to the UM policy issued by it to Heflin. To effectuate this motion, Nationwide argued that any and all mention of Nationwide should be prevented; to whit, that the jury should not be made aware of Nationwide’s existence in this particular lawsuit. Heflin objected, arguing that the exclusion of Nationwide, while it actively participated in the litigation, would mislead the jury and prejudice Heflin because the jury would think her claim was simply against a dead man’s estate, rather than including a contractual claim against her own insurance company. The circuit court agreed to conceal from the jury the existence of Nationwide in the lawsuit, while allowing Nationwide to actively participate in the trial. Nationwide had also actively participated in the case during the time leading up to trial.
¶ 35. The majority mischaracterizes the mere identity of Nationwide as a participating party as “evidence.” It is certainly the case that insurance policies themselves are often excluded at trial. The Mississippi Rules of Evidence provide that irrelevant evidence, as well as relevant evidence in which the “probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or mis
Evidence that a person was or was not insured against liability is not admissible upon the issue whether he acted negligently or otherwise wrongfully. This rule does not require the exclusion of evidence of insurance against liability when offered for another purpose, such as proof of agency, ownership, or control, or bias or prejudice of a witness.
M.R.E. 411. However, merely identifying Nationwide as a defendant is not “evidence that a person was ... insured against liability,” and is thus not an evidentiary issue. Rather, the issue regards simply referencing the proper procedural posture of the case. The issue that was placed before the trial court, and which is before this Court, is whether a party defendant may actively participate in a case and not be identified as a party defendant in the case.
¶36. The majority’s view — that the mere identity of a party is “evidence,” rather than an issue involving the openness of judicial proceedings — subjects the identity of every single party in every single case to scrutiny under Rule of Evidence 403, an extremely slippery slope. The ramifications are far-reaching and absurd. Is the identity of a criminal defendant “evidence” and must the trial court be compelled to conduct a Rule 403 analysis of it? What about the identity of the State in a criminal prosecution? What relevance does the identity of the State have to the case? A criminal defendant could argue that the identity of the State carries prejudicial effect on his case, as the weight and authority of the State harm his presumption of innocence and minimize the State’s burden of proof. What relevance could its identity possibly have other than to lend clout to the prosecution? Must any mention of the State be thus eliminated from criminal defendants’ cases? The possibilities are endless, the slope is slippery, and the majority would subject a trial court to needless analysis, when the identity of the parties is simply information the jury and public have a
¶ 37. In analyzing the issue of whether the identity of a party who actively participates in a case should be revealed to the jury, this Court looks to the United States Constitution, rules of procedure, and case-law. The Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure require that complaints contain the names of all parties. M.R.C.P. 10(a). Generally, “the identity of the parties to a lawsuit should not be concealed.” Southern Methodist Univ. Ass’n of Women Law Students v. Wynne & Jaffe,
¶ 38. Furthermore, Nationwide was properly joined as a party to the lawsuit. M.R.C.P. 19, 20; Vaughn v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.,
a. The Florida Approach
¶ 39. Florida law requires that when a UM insurer is a proper party to an action
¶ 40. Other courts have followed Florida’s line of reasoning. In King v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., the insured filed suit against his UM insurer subsequent to an automobile accident. King v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.,
The lack of per se prejudice to the UM/ UIM carrier in being identified at trial at which the insured’s damages, under the policy, are determined by rules applicable to tort cases is shown by the permissibility of joining, as defendants in an action brought by the insured, the tortfeasor and the UM/UIM carrier. Indeed, [the insurer’s] position here is no different from that of any insurerthat is sued directly for breach of its policy or from that of any apparently “deep pocket” corporation that is sued for breach of contract by its promisee. We hold that the circuit court abused its discretion in imposing this partial blackout on public information.
Id. at 298-99,
¶41. Other courts likewise have held that the jury has a right to be aware of the identity of an UM carrier defendant. In Tucker v. McQuery, the court found that the jury may be informed that the UM carrier is the real party in interest. Tucker v. McQuery,
b. The Virginia Approach
¶ 42. In Travelers Insurance Co. v. Lo-bello, the Virginia Supreme Court determined that it was prejudicial error to inject insurance into the case. Travelers Ins. Co. v. Lobello,
¶ 43. I find the reasoning followed by Florida and like courts compelling. Hef-lin was within her rights to join Nationwide as a party to the action. Absent compelling circumstances, the jury and the public have a right to know the identity of the parties to a case.
¶ 44. ' Additionally, the Virginia cases are distinguishable from the case at hand. In Lobello, the injection of insurance by a nonparty potentially prejudiced codefen-dants, a situation not present in this case. In Wade, the admitted purpose of injecting insurance into the case, when the insurer was not a party to the lawsuit, was to influence the award of damages. Moreover, Virginia law, unlike Mississippi law, does not allow a direct action in contract against an uninsured motorist carrier until judgment in tort has already been entered against the tortfeasor. Willard v. Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co.,
¶ 45. Furthermore, it stretches credulity to argue that the mere knowledge that an insurance company is a defendant in a lawsuit prejudices that insurance company.
¶46. Because Nationwide’s identity as a proper party to the lawsuit was erroneously concealed from the jury, I would reverse the trial court’s judgment and remand for further proceedings. Further, I believe that a harmless error analysis is inapplicable in such a case in which the entire proceeding was irreparably tainted by the improper exclusion of the identity of a party. Medina,
¶ 47. I also disagree with the majority’s analysis of Heflin’s other points of error. While I believe that these issues are not reversible error, I write because the majority’s view upends settled evidentiary law and is in error.
¶ 48. The trial court excluded Mike’s testimony regarding his opinion as to the speed at which Merrill was traveling when the accident occurred. Lay opinion testimony is admissible so long as it is “rationally based on the perception of the witness,” “helpful to the clear understanding of the testimony or the determination of a fact in issue,” and “not based on scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge within the scope of Rule 702.” M.R.E. 701. Generally, lay witnesses may testify as to their opinion on the speed of a moving vehicle if the witness observed the vehicle in question. Howard v. State,
¶ 49. The trial court also excluded Mike’s testimony regarding Merrill’s statements to Mike after the accident, despite the statements constituting admissions by a party opponent. The trial court did so, at least in part, because Merrill was not available for cross-examination because he was deceased. Part of the reason for excluding the statement was that the judge feared it would “inflame and confuse the jury” because the statement was made by someone now deceased. I find no basis under Mississippi law to exclude an admission by a party opponent merely because that party is deceased.
¶ 50. Because I believe that Nationwide’s identity as a participating party in the litigation was improperly concealed from the jury, and because I disagree with the majority’s analysis of the evidentiary issues raised, I would reverse the trail court’s judgment and remand for a new trial.
KITCHENS, J., JOINS THIS OPINION.
. The trial court stated that "it’s the court’s opinion that introducing [UM coverage] along with the existence of Nationwide Insurance Company to the jury would potentially prejudice that jury as to a determination of damages.”
. Nationwide and the majority both rely on the proposition that the mere identity of a party is somehow “evidence.” “Evidence" is defined as "something (including testimony, documents, and tangible objects) that tends to prove or disprove the existence of an alleged fact.” Black’s Law Dictionary 595 (8th ed. 2004). Nationwide and the majority both fail to explain how merely identifying a party as a party "tends to prove or disprove the existence of an alleged fact.” Such an interpretation that the identity of a party alone is “evidence” could have widespread ramifications on our legal system. For example, in a criminal case for manslaughter, in which the defendant concedes that he killed the victim (and thus concedes identity and admits to the actions that led to a death), but asserts that he did so in self-defense, the rule articulated by the majority indicates that such a defendant would be able to have his identity hidden at trial as irrelevant "evidence.”
. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 10(a) is substantially the same as Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 10(a). When interpreting the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure, this Court views federal interpretations of the federal counterpart to the state rule as persuasive authority. Veal v. J.P. Morgan Trust Co., N.A.,
. The majority not only discounts the plaintiff’s right to have the jury informed of Nationwide’s role, it completely ignores the public’s constitutional stake in the openness of judicial proceedings.
. The insured had settled with the other driver prior to trial for the limit of her insur-anee policy. King,
. Indeed, Mississippi provides statutorily for extenuating circumstances in which the identity of a party may be concealed, for example, in youth court cases or adoption cases. See Miss.Code Ann. §§ 43-21-251(2) (Rev. 2009), 93-17-25 (Rev. 2013). This indicates that Mississippi law favors disclosure of the parties, absent some compelling circumstance necessitating the identity of a party be concealed. The majority's view, doing what the Legislature has not done, appears to invade the province of the Legislature. Had the Legislature wanted to include insurance defendants in the category of parties whose identity may be concealed, it would have so provided, as it has done for minors in youth court and adoption cases. The purpose of keeping minors’ identities confidential is to protect the best interests of minor children, and to prevent injury that might occur from the dissemination of private and potentially damaging information. In re R.J.M.B.,
. Indeed, the hearsay rules, which are not directly applicable to this analysis because this case involves an admission by a party opponent, allow for statements made by witnesses unavailable due to death. M.R.E. 804. Thus, the rules certainly contemplate allowing into evidence statements made by deceased persons, which undermines the idea that the jury would be "inflamed and confused” by the person's status as deceased.