Special Referee Jeffrey Helewitz
The Special Referee was ordered to hear and report on the issue of personal jurisdiction over Majestic Mills (MM). Plaintiffs offered into evidence trade and other publications purporting to quote from MM’s owner. Plaintiffs alleged same were admissible as self-authenticating newspapers and periodicals of general circulation containing admissions of a party opponent. The referee found while several of the magazines and publications met the requirements of CPLR 4532 to be self-authenticating, they failed to provide evidence the trade publications met the prerequisites to self-authentication. Thus, they could not be admitted into evidence. Also, as newspaper articles were generally considered hearsay if introduced for the truth of the matters asserted, any statements appearing in them must come within a hearsay exception. Here, plaintiffs failed to provide any evidence MM saw the publications or was aware such statements appeared in them. Further, as the statements in the publications did not qualify as exceptions to the hearsay rule, and the documents plaintiffs presented contained double hearsay, the self-authenticating publications were determined not to be admissible as evidence of an admission of an opposing party.
