Section 16.37 Market Reports and Trade Publications

• Library: Evidence 2017

B. (§16.37) Market Reports and Trade Publications

The modern-day exception to the hearsay rule for the admission of market and trade publications is found in the Uniform Commercial Code, Chapter 400, RSMo. Section 400.2-724, RSMo 2016, provides:

Whenever the prevailing price or value of any goods regularly bought and sold in any established commodity market is in issue, reports in official publications or trade journals or in newspapers or periodicals of general circulation published as the reports of such market shall be admissible in evidence. The circumstances of the preparation of such a report may be shown to affect its weight but not its admissibility.

The statute codifies the common-law exception, apart from the last sentence. Under the common law, the proponent of the evidence must make a preliminary showing that the “publications are based upon reliable sources of information or that they have been regularly prepared for the use of the trade or profession and are generally regarded as trustworthy and relied upon.” Baker v. Atkins, 258 S.W.2d 16, 21 (Mo. App. W.D. 1953) (a discussion of the value of the car in the Red Book). The types of documents that fall under this exception include trade journals reporting prices, commercial and professional lists, and business directories. Id. Cf. Longshore v. City of St. Louis, 699 S.W.2d 16, 18–19 (Mo. App. E.D. 1985) (it was error to admit testimony that Cycle magazine had a report about the speed of a motorcycle). A telephone directory, however, may be “accepted as an exception to the hearsay rule without any further foundation as to its reliability” because the court can take judicial notice of the foundation for its admission. Modern Graphics, Inc. v. Belger Cartage Servs., Inc., 668 S.W.2d 111, 114 (Mo. App. W.D. 1984) (referencing Federal Rule of...