Pizza Corner, Inc. v. C.F.I. Transport, Inc.

Summary

The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed a judgment awarding Pizza Corner, Inc. damages for frozen pizzas allegedly damaged during transportation. The court held that a handwritten temperature notation on a bill of lading was admissible under the business-records exception because Pizza Corner adopted and relied on the document in its ordinary business operations.

Holdings

1. The handwritten temperature notation was a written assertion offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted and therefore constituted hearsay.
2. A record created by a third party may be admitted as the business record of another entity when that entity integrated the record into its own records, relied on its accuracy, and the other requirements of N.D.R.Ev. 803(6) are satisfied.
3. The district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the bill of lading and handwritten temperature notation under N.D.R.Ev. 803(6).

Questions Presented

1. Whether the handwritten temperature notation on the bill of lading was hearsay.
2. Whether the handwritten temperature notation was admissible under N.D.R.Ev. 803(6) as a record of regularly conducted business activity.
3. Whether the district court abused its discretion by admitting the bill of lading and handwritten notation.

Disposition

affirmed