Special Referee Jeffrey Helewitz
The issue of damages was referred to a special referee to hear and recommend. Armas introduced into evidence at a hearing three groups of documents, including various medical records. The records were subpoenaed directly from the institutions and individuals that maintained them, and certified by the custodian of the records. Defendant objected to introduction of the documents into evidence arguing they were not properly authenticated and were hearsay. Defendant alleged the doctors who created the records must be present at the hearing and be subject to cross-examination. The court previously overruled defendant's objection to the certifications of the records, and they were deemed properly certified, and found to be authenticated. The court noted defendant was served with notice of plaintiffs' intention of presenting the subject records at the hearing, and defendant's objection was based merely on the records' method of authentication and general hearsay grounds, thus there was no basis to sustain such objections. Also, defendant was able to subpoena the subject individuals itself if it wanted to question them, but failed to do so. Hence, as no valid objection was raised to the introduction of the certified records, they were admitted into evidence.
