Motion for New trial based on wrongful evidentiary ruling by trial judge — Burden of Proof on Motion for New Trial

Don v. Edison Car Company, New Jersey Appellate Division May 9, 2019  (Not Approved for Publication)

Submitted by New Jersey Civil Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark.

Burden of Proof—

We also review a trial court’s evidentiary rulings under a deferential standard. “When a trial court admits or excludes evidence, its determination is ‘entitled to deference absent a showing of an abuse of discretion, i.e., [that] there has been a clear error of judgment.'” Griffin v. City of E. Orange, 225 N.J. 400, 413 (2016) (alteration in original) (quoting State v. Brown, 170 N.J. 138, 147 (2001)). “Thus, we will reverse an evidentiary ruling only if it ‘was so wide [of] the mark that a manifest denial of justice resulted.‘” Ibid. (quoting Green v. N.J. Mfrs. Ins. Co., 160 N.J. 480, 492 (1999)).