Havens v. State

Steven K. Havens (Havens) sued the State of Montana (State) claiming the States negligence in failing to install a stop light at the main entrance to the Wal-Mart store located in Butte, Montana, was a cause of the motorcycle/automobile collision in which he received injuries. The State contended that Havens was contributorily negligent because his ability to react was impaired due to his consumption of alcohol prior to the accident. Havens filed a motion in limine seeking to exclude evidence of his alcohol consumption on the day of the accident and objected at trial to the introduction of results of a toxicology report indicating that Havens had 0.068 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and tested positive for marijuana. The District Court denied Havens motion in limine, the case proceeded to trial and the jury found no negligence by the State. The court also denied Havens motion for a new trial in which he contended that the court should have granted the motion in limine. Havens asserts in this appeal that the Second Judicial District Court, Silver Bow County, erred in denying, his motion in limine and as a result he was prejudiced by introduction of the toxicology report and evidence of - Page 197 alcohol consumption. We conclude that the District Court erred in denying Havens motion for a new trial. We reverse and remand.