Opinion Testimony by Lay Witnesses — Rule 701

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

Opinion Testimony by Lay Witnesses — Rule 701

SUMMARY OF RULE 701

• Rule 701 governs admissibility of opinion testimony by a lay witness.
• The opinion must be rationally based on the perception of the witness and must be helpful to a clear understanding of the witness's testimony or determination of a fact in issue.
• The opinion must not be based on scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge within the scope of CRE 702.

LEGAL AUTHORITIES

• The owner may testify to his or her own estimate of the value of land. Baker Metropolitan Water & Sanitation Dist. v. Baca, 138 Colo. 239, 331 P.2d 511 (1958).

• The owner must have the means to form intelligent opinion, derived from an adequate knowledge of nature, kind, and value of the property. In re Marriage of Plummer, 709 P.2d 1388 (Colo. App. 1985) (husband's testimony about wife's separate property was not admissible because he had only limited knowledge of one property, had not seen one of the properties, and relied on a third party's description).

• The court accepted the wife's opinion of a marital residence's valuation, which was partially based on her extensive knowledge, a heightened awareness of its value, and the market valuations provided to her. The wife tendered two market valuation reports (neither evaluator testified), and the husband did not testify to his opinion of the value. In re Marriage of Lewis, 66 P.3d 204 (Colo. App. 2003).

• The owner's testimony of value includes personal property. People v. Bornman, 953 P.2d 952 (Colo. App. 1997).

• The assessed value of real property is not evidence of its value for other than tax purposes. Bankers Trust Co. v. Int'l Trust Co., 108 Colo. 15, 113 P.2d 656 (1941), but due to intervening changes, assessors are now constitutionally required to determine the actual market value with an appraisal using market approach, and property tax assessments now are relevant evidence of value. Antolovich v. Brown Group Retail, Inc., 183 P.3d 582 (Colo. App. 2007).

• The listing price of real estate may be used for impeachment, but it is speculative; and standing alone it does not bear a sufficient relationship to the fair market value. Bennett v. Price, 692 P.2d 1138 (Colo. App. 1984).

• Evidence of an unaccepted offer to purchase land is not admissible to prove the value of the land. Realty Loans, Inc. v. McCoy, 523 P.2d 476 (Colo. App. 1974); Connell v. Sun Exploration and Production Co., 655 P.2d 426 (Colo. App. 1982) (offer to buy overriding royalty...