§ 17.01 INTRODUCTION

• Jurisdiction: North Carolina

§ 17.01. INTRODUCTION

Federal Rule 411 excludes evidence of liability insurance if offered to prove that a person carrying, or failing to carry, such insurance acted negligently or otherwise wrongfully. If the evidence is offered for another purpose, such as proof of (1) bias of a witness or (2) agency, ownership or control, the rule does not apply.

Scope of rule. Rule 411 was "drafted in broad terms so as to include contributory negligence or other fault of a plaintiff as well as fault of a defendant."¹ By its terms, the rule excludes evidence of the nonexistence as well as the existence of insurance.²

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Notes:

^[1] Fed. R. Evid. 411 advisory committee's note.

^[2] Insurance agreements are discoverable, but discoverability is not the same as admissibility. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1)(A)(iv) ("[F]or inspection and copying . . . any insurance agreement under which an insurance business may be liable to satisfy all or part of a possible judgment in the action or to indemnify or reimburse for payments made to satisfy the judgment."). The...