Chapter 2 - § 2.3 • GROUNDS FOR GRANTING

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 2.3 • GROUNDS FOR GRANTING

Colorado

➢ General. In an action brought under FELA, as long as federally created substantive rights are not obstructed, questions involving the production and admissibility of evidence are governed by state law. Thus, the trial court may properly limit questions and evidence. Swartwood v. Burlington Northern, Inc., 669 P.2d 1051, 1052 (Colo. App. 1983).

➢ General. "Specific statutes are not required to authorize a motion in limine. The underlying power of the trial court to pass on the admissibility of evidence is inherent and is reflected in the rules governing trial procedure." Good v. A. B. Chance Co., 565 P.2d 217, 221 (Colo. App. 1977), superseded on other grounds, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19366; see also Bruckman v. Pena, 487 P.2d 566, 569 (Colo. App. 1971); C.R.C.P. 16(a); C.R.C.P. 43.

➢ General. The owner and manager of a parking lot were successful in excluding evidence of a witness's fall and similar pending suit through the use of a motion in limine. Anderson v. Dunton Mgmt. Co., 865 P.2d 887, 892 (Colo. App. 1993).
➢ General. Plaintiff's motion in limine to exclude evidence of Medicaid benefits paid on behalf of plaintiff and the amounts paid to or accepted by plaintiff's medical providers was granted by the trial court and affirmed on appeal. As a matter of first impression in Colorado, under C.R.S. § 10-1-135(10)(a), evidence of Medicaid benefits paid on behalf of plaintiff are inadmissible at trial. Also, as a matter of first impression, under C.R.S. § 10-1-135(10)(a), the so-called "gratuitous government benefits" exception to the collateral source rule is abrogated. Smith v. Kinningham, 328 P.3d 258 (Colo. App. 2013).

➢ General. It was improper for the attorney general to refer to evidence that had been specifically excluded by the ALJ in response to physician-petitioner's motion in limine, because the attorney general did not specifically challenge the ALJ's ruling excluding the evidence. Colorado State Bd. of Med. Exam'rs v. Hoffner, 832 P.2d 1062, 1067 (Colo. App. 1992).

➢ Excluding "Other Acts." In making an in limine ruling on the

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