Are Pleadings Admissible in Evidence as Party Admissions?
Maybe. To the extent pleadings are not superseded by pretrial orders, they should generally be admissible against the party in whose name they are filed. But they should be excluded on facts such as those in the problem where FRCP 8(e) comes into play. Surely exclusion is also wise where the position taken at trial by the pleader is fully consistent with the pleading (and here FRE 403 might indicate exclusion on ground of confusion or needless presentation of evidence). And exclusion may also be proper if the party makes a conclusive showing that the attorney acted beyond his authority in filing the document, although such a claim will likely raise a jury question on the actual scope of the attorney’s authority. What the court actually did. The facts come from Garman v. Griffin, 666 F.2d 1156 (8th Cir. 1982), which held that the pleading should have been excluded. Judge Woods emphasized that tort cases often rest on multiple theories, which “involve inconsistent and contradictory alleg
