§ 11.11 Other-Acts Evidence in Civil Cases

• Jurisdiction: North Carolina

§ 11.11 Other-Acts Evidence in Civil Cases

Although other-acts evidence is most often used in criminal cases, Rule 404(b) applies in civil as well as criminal cases.⁹⁰ Professor Imwinkelried lists the following types of illustrative cases: antitrust suits, actions on promissory notes, assault and battery actions, civil discovery disputes, civil rights cases, civil fraud actions, contract lawsuits, insurance litigation, marriage dissolution proceedings, denaturalization proceedings, school desegregation suits, slander actions, attractive nuisance suits, copyright infringement proceedings, and product liability actions over food, aircraft, boats, industrial equipment, drugs, cosmetics, tobacco farm products, and containers.⁹¹

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^[90] E.g., S.E.C. v. Happ, 392 F.3d 12, 30 (1st Cir. 2004) ("Due to the similarity of the violations alleged here and in the CAI Wireless episode, we think the letters were admissible to show Happ's understanding of what he could do under the securities laws and why he sold his Galileo stock when he did."); Turley v. State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. Co., 944 F.2d 669, 672-75 (10th Cir. 1991) (evidence of prior insurance scams admissible); Doe v. New York City Dept. Soc. Services, 649 F.2d 134, 147 (2d Cir. 1981) (civil rights action); Novak v. McEldowney, 655 N.W.2d 909, 914 (S.D. 2002) (suit involving battery, sexual harassment, and intentional infliction of emotional...