When the Court of Appeals hands down a decision providing guidance for navigating New York’s catch-as-catch-can rules of evidence, litigators in New York take pause. High court pronouncements on civil trial objections are uncommon because of the restrictions on the scope of review available in the Court of Appeals and the fact that the trial judge’s evidentiary rulings will not be disturbed on appeal unless the ruling is determined to be an abuse of discretion.1
Recently addressing “prior bad act” impeachment evidence in the context of a medical malpractice and wrongful death action, the court in Mazella v. Beals, 2016 NY Slip Op 05182 (decided on June 30, 2016), determined that it was improper to admit a consent agreement between the defendant doctor and the Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC),2 which contained evidence of the doctor’s negligent treatment of 12 unrelated patients.3
