Free Motion in Limine - District Court of Arizona - Arizona

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JOSEPH C. DOLAN, ESQ. (007376) 1650 North 1st Avenue Phoenix, Arizona 85003 (602) 266-7667 Fax (602) 277-9839 Attorney for Plaintiff IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT IN AND FOR DISTRICT OF ARIZONA JERRY SIMMS, a single man, Plaintiff, vs STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY, an Illinois corporation; ABC CORPORATIONS I-X; JOHN DOES I-X, Defendants. CV-03-1415-PHX-ROS MOTION IN LIMINE NO. 2 RE: ISSUES RELATED TO STATE RACING COMMISSION

Plaintiff hereby moves this Court for an order directing defense counsel not to question plaintiff concerning the substance of issues that have been considered by the Arizona Racing Commission as it relates to plaintiff's involvement in the operation of Turf Paradise. Mr. Simms was granted a license to operate Turf Paradise in May of 2000 by the State Racing Commission. Since May of 2000, there have been periodic reviews and issues that have been addressed by plaintiff. Review of a racing applicant's credentials and operational abilities are standard anywhere in the United States. Plaintiff has successfully defended his license and his ability to operate Turf Paradise within Commission guidelines. Out of an exercise of caution, plaintiff brings this issue to the attention of the Court. There have been articles written in the Arizona Republic over the past five years from time to time that address the Racing Commission's issues. It is requested that this Court order in limine that these issues not be discussed by defense counsel during argument or during the questioning of witnesses.

Case 2:03-cv-01415-ROS

Document 144

Filed 12/02/2005

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LEGAL ARGUMENT Rule 401 provides that "relevant evidence" means evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence. Rule 403 provides, "Although relevant, evidence may be excluded 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." If defendant were to begin exploring issues surrounding plaintiff's licensing at Turf Paradise, this trial will be turned into a three-ring circus. The risk of prejudice and confusion would be enormous. Plaintiff would be required to conceivably spend extra days of proffered evidence in order to establish the merits of his licensing abilities - to which the Commission has already agreed. Rule 403 clearly authorizes the Court to enter its order now precluding defendant from making mention of any such issues. CONCLUSION This motion may have been unnecessary. Given plaintiff's status, however, and particularly the fact that there have been news articles written about Turf Paradise and Mr. Simms, it is appropriate to bring this issue to the attention of the Court. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 2nd day of December, 2005.

JOSEPH C. DOLAN

1650 North First Avenue Phoenix, Arizona 85003

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By

s/Joseph C. Dolan 007376 JOSEPH C. DOLAN, ESQ. 1650 North 1st Avenue Phoenix, Arizona 85003 Attorney for Plaintiff

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY that on December 2, 2005, I electronically transmitted the attached document to the Clerk's Office using the CM/ECF System for filing and transmittal of a Notice of Electronic Filing to the following CM/ECF registrants: William Phillips, Esq. BROENING OBERG WOODS & WILSON 1122 East Jefferson Phoenix, Arizona 85036 Attorneys for State Farm

I HEREBY CERTIFY that on December 2, 2005 I served the attached document by mailing a copy of the following: Hon. Roslyn Silver United States District Court, Suite 624 401 W. Washington Street Phoenix, Arizona 85003-2158

JOSEPH C. DOLAN

1650 North First Avenue Phoenix, Arizona 85003

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s/Joseph C. Dolan, Esq. 007376 Attorney

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