SARAH S. VANCE, District Judge.
Before the Court are defendant Marquette Transportation Company's motion to strike plaintiff Deloach Marine Services' witness Tom Stakelum and defendant's objections to three of plaintiff's exhibits. Because defendant has not demonstrated that it is prejudiced by plaintiff's late disclosure of Tom Stakelum as a witness, the Court denies defendant's motion to exclude him. For the following reasons, the Court overrules two of defendant's objections and sustains one.
This case arises out of an accident that occurred between two towing vessels and their cargo on the Mississippi River.
Defendant argues that plaintiff's witness Stakelum should not be permitted to testify because plaintiff did not properly disclose him as a witness until the parties' proposed pretrial order.
"When a party fails to timely disclose information required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a), `the party is not allowed to use that information . . . at a trial, unless the failure was substantially justified or is harmless.'" In re Complaint of C.F. Bean L.L.C., 841 F.3d 365, 372 (5th Cir. 2016) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(c)(1)). In Geiserman v. MacDonald, the Fifth Circuit described four factors to determine whether "to exclude evidence that was not properly designated": (1) the explanation for the failure to adhere to the deadline; (2) the importance of the proposed modification of the scheduling order; (3) the potential prejudice that could result from allowing the modification; and (4) the availability of a continuance to cure that prejudice. 893 F.2d 787, 791 (5th Cir. 1990); see also Hooks v. Nationwide Housing Systems, LLC, No. 15-729, 2016 WL 3667134, at *4 (applying the Geiserman test to a motion in limine).
Defendant has not explained how it is prejudiced by plaintiff's failure to include Stakelum on its initial witness list. For instance, defendant does not say how plaintiff's decision to call Stakelum negatively impacts its strategy or trial preparations. In addition, while plaintiff does not give a reason for its failure to identify Stakelum initially, it disclosed him as a witness before the pretrial conference. Defendant has had adequate time to adjust its arguments before trial, to the extent that such adjustments have been necessary. Finally, Stakelum's testimony serves to authenticate Rose Point navigational data that gives the positions and movements of the two vessels before the collision, information that is central to the merits of the case. The Geiserman factors therefore weigh against exclusion of Stakelum's testimony despite plaintiff's late disclosure.
Defendant further asserts that Stakelum is an expert witness and has not filed an expert report.
Defendant objects to the Rose Point data created by Tom Stakelum because it was not timely disclosed.
Defendant objects to records by the marine survey firm Budwine & Associates estimating damages to the VANPORT's cargo because they were not timely disclosed, and because they are hearsay.
The documents are not within the business records exception because they were not prepared as part of a regular business activity. Fed. R. Evid. 803(6) (record must be "kept in the course of a regularly conducted activity of a business" and making the record must be "a regular practice of that activity"). Instead, these documents appear to have been prepared in anticipation of litigation against either the owner of Deloach's cargo or the defendant. "The absence of trustworthiness is clear . . . when a report is prepared in the anticipation of litigation because the document is not for the systematic conduct and operations of the enterprise but for the primary purpose of litigating." Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London v. Sinkovich, 232 F.3d 200, 205 (4th Cir. 2000). The Fifth Circuit has noted of marine survey reports that "their objectivity is suspect because of their intended use in litigation." Colorificio Italiano Max Meyer, S.P.A. v. S/S Hellenic Wave, 419 F.2d 223, 225 (5th Cir. 1969). Indeed, the first page of Budwine's report certifies that the purpose of its employment by Deloach "was to ascertain the nature and extent of damages to the subject vessels that stemmed from this incident."
Nor do the Budwine documents qualify as business records of Budwine & Associates, because they lack trustworthiness as documents created primarily for future litigation. See Sinkovich, 232 F.3d at 205 ("Litigants cannot evade the trustworthiness requirement of Rule 803(6) by simply hiring an outside party to investigate an accident and then arguing that the report is a business record because the investigator regularly prepares such reports as part of his business."). Because the Budwine documents were not created in the course of a regularly conducted business activity, they are inadmissible as business records. But during Mr. Budwine's testimony, he may use these documents to refresh his recollection. See Fed. R. Evid. 612. Defendant's objection is SUSTAINED.
Finally, defendant objects to an email sent by one of the marine surveyors at Budwine & Associates documenting the damage to plaintiff's vessel and cargo because it was not listed as an exhibit in plaintiff's initial exhibit list.
For the foregoing reasons, defendant's motion to exclude Tom Stakelum is DENIED. Defendant's objection to Tom Stakelum's Rose Point data is OVERRULED. Defendant's objection to the Budwine documents is SUSTAINED. Defendant's objection to the Randy Bullard email is SUSTAINED.