State Court Motion in Limine - North Dakota

[MOVING PARTY]'S MOTION IN LIMINE

(State of North Dakota — District Court, [________________] County, [________________] Judicial District)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Caption
2. Notice of Motion and Hearing
3. Motion in Limine
4. Legal Standard
5. Argument — Grounds for Exclusion
6. Relief Requested (Instruction to Counsel and Witnesses)
7. Conclusion
8. Certificate of Service
9. Exhibit A — Proposed Form of Order

1. CAPTION

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF [________________] COUNTY
STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA
[________________] JUDICIAL DISTRICT

Court File No. [________________]

Hearing Date: [________________]
Hearing Time: [________________]
Courtroom: [________________]
Judge: Hon. [________________]
Trial Date: [________________]

2. NOTICE OF MOTION AND HEARING

TO: ALL PARTIES AND THEIR ATTORNEYS OF RECORD

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that [Moving Party] will, and hereby does, move this Court for an Order in limine pursuant to the North Dakota Rules of Evidence precluding the evidence, testimony, and argument described below. Pursuant to N.D.R.Ct. 3.2, any party opposing this Motion must serve and file a response within the time prescribed by the rule; a party who fails to timely respond is deemed to have waived oral argument. [Moving Party] [requests / does not request] oral argument.

This Motion is based on this Notice, the pleadings and discovery on file, the grounds and authorities set forth herein, and any argument or evidence presented at or before the hearing.

DATED: [__/__/____]

Respectfully submitted,

[FIRM NAME]

By: ______________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]
[ND BAR / ID NO. ________________]
[FIRM ADDRESS]
[CITY, STATE ZIP]
[TELEPHONE] | [EMAIL]
Attorneys for [Moving Party]

3. MOTION IN LIMINE

[Moving Party], by and through undersigned counsel, respectfully moves this Court, in advance of trial, for an Order precluding [opposing party], its counsel, and its witnesses from offering, eliciting, mentioning, or referring to — whether through testimony, exhibits, demonstratives, questions, opening statement, or closing argument — the following categories of evidence and argument:

☐ [Brief description of evidence category 1]
☐ [Brief description of evidence category 2]
☐ [Brief description of evidence category 3]

4. LEGAL STANDARD

Relevance (N.D.R.Ev. 401 / 402). Evidence is relevant if it has "any tendency to make a fact more or less probable than it would be without the evidence" and the fact is of consequence in determining the action. N.D.R.Ev. 401. Irrelevant evidence is inadmissible. N.D.R.Ev. 402.

Unfair Prejudice (N.D.R.Ev. 403). The court may exclude relevant evidence "if its probative value is substantially outweighed by a danger of one or more of the following: unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, wasting time, or needlessly presenting cumulative evidence." N.D.R.Ev. 403. This balancing is the analytical core of most motions in limine.

Character and Other Acts (N.D.R.Ev. 404, 608, 609). Character evidence is generally inadmissible to prove conduct in conformity therewith. N.D.R.Ev. 404(a). Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is inadmissible to prove propensity but may be admissible for a non-propensity purpose such as motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake. N.D.R.Ev. 404(b). Impeachment by truthfulness or by prior conviction is governed by N.D.R.Ev. 608 and 609.

Hearsay (N.D.R.Ev. 801–803). Out-of-court statements offered for their truth are inadmissible unless an exclusion or exception applies.

Subsequent Remedial Measures (N.D.R.Ev. 407). Evidence of measures taken after an event that would have made it less likely is not admissible to prove negligence or culpable conduct.

Compromise and Insurance (N.D.R.Ev. 408, 411). Settlement offers and negotiations are inadmissible to prove the validity or amount of a disputed claim (N.D.R.Ev. 408), and evidence of liability insurance is inadmissible to prove negligence or wrongful conduct (N.D.R.Ev. 411).

Expert Testimony — Reliability (N.D.R.Ev. 702). A qualified expert may testify "if the expert's scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will help the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue." N.D.R.Ev. 702. North Dakota applies a comparatively liberal Rule 702 standard focused on helpfulness; the trial court nonetheless acts as a gatekeeper and may exclude opinions that rest on speculation, conjecture, or an unreliable foundation. Admissibility is governed by Rule 702 itself, and the Daubert factors may be consulted as guidance but are not a mandatory checklist.

NORTH DAKOTA EXPERT STANDARD FLAG: North Dakota's N.D.R.Ev. 702 retains the original "help the trier of fact" formulation and has not codified the federal post-2000 reliability prongs; the North Dakota Supreme Court has noted that the amendments were not intended to change any result on admissibility. North Dakota thus applies a liberal, Daubert-influenced reliability gatekeeping approach under Rule 702 rather than a strict, codified Daubert test, and it is not a Frye state. Verify current N.D.R.Ev. 702 text and case law before filing.

Golden Rule / Appeals to Sympathy. Argument inviting jurors to put themselves in a party's position or to decide on sympathy, passion, or prejudice rather than the evidence is improper and should be precluded.

5. ARGUMENT — GROUNDS FOR EXCLUSION

Ground 1 — Irrelevant and Unfairly Prejudicial Evidence (N.D.R.Ev. 401–403)

[Moving Party] moves to exclude [describe evidence] because it has no tendency to make any fact of consequence more or less probable and, even if marginally relevant, its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion, and waste of time.

Ground 2 — Character Evidence and Prior Bad Acts (N.D.R.Ev. 404, 608, 609)

The Court should exclude [describe character/other-acts evidence] offered to show that [party/witness] acted in conformity with a character trait. Any impeachment by prior conviction must satisfy N.D.R.Ev. 609.

Ground 3 — Inadmissible Hearsay (N.D.R.Ev. 801–803)

[Describe statement/document] is an out-of-court statement offered for its truth and falls within no exception; it should be excluded.

Ground 4 — Subsequent Remedial Measures (N.D.R.Ev. 407)

Evidence that [party] [repaired / modified / warned / changed policy] after the events at issue is inadmissible to prove negligence or culpable conduct.

Ground 5 — Settlement Communications and Liability Insurance (N.D.R.Ev. 408, 411)

Any reference to settlement offers, negotiations, or the existence or absence of liability insurance must be excluded.

Ground 6 — Unreliable Expert Testimony (N.D.R.Ev. 702)

[Opposing expert]'s opinion that [describe opinion] should be excluded because it will not help the trier of fact and rests on [speculation / conjecture / an unreliable foundation / an untested or unsupported methodology], and therefore fails the gatekeeping standard of N.D.R.Ev. 702.

Ground 7 — Golden-Rule and Sympathy Argument

The Court should preclude any "golden rule" argument or appeal to jury sympathy, passion, or prejudice.

Ground 8 — [Additional Ground]

[Describe additional evidence and the rule(s) requiring its exclusion.]

6. RELIEF REQUESTED (INSTRUCTION TO COUNSEL AND WITNESSES)

[Moving Party] respectfully requests that the Court enter an Order:

1. Excluding the categories of evidence, testimony, and argument identified above;
2. Instructing all counsel to refrain from mentioning, referring to, or attempting to elicit the excluded matters in the presence of the jury — including during jury selection, opening statement, examination of witnesses, and closing argument;
3. Directing counsel to admonish their witnesses, before they testify, not to volunteer or refer to any excluded matter;
4. Requiring that, before any party offers, mentions, or seeks to introduce any excluded matter, counsel first approach the bench and obtain a ruling outside the presence of the jury; and
5. Granting such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

7. CONCLUSION

WHEREFORE, [Moving Party] respectfully requests that the Court grant this Motion in Limine in its entirety.

DATED: [__/__/____]

Respectfully submitted,

[FIRM NAME]

By: ______________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]
[ND BAR / ID NO. ________________]
Attorneys for [Moving Party]

8. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on [__/__/____], I served a copy of the foregoing Motion in Limine and proposed Order on all counsel of record by:

☐ Odyssey File & Serve (ND e-filing) ☐ Email ☐ U.S. Mail ☐ Hand Delivery

to:

[Opposing Counsel Name]
[Firm Name]
[Address]
[City, State ZIP]
[Email]

______________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]
[ND Bar / ID No. ________________]
Attorneys for [Moving Party]

9. EXHIBIT A — PROPOSED FORM OF ORDER

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF [________________] COUNTY
STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA
[________________] JUDICIAL DISTRICT

Court File No. [________________]

ORDER GRANTING MOTION IN LIMINE

THIS MATTER having come before the Court on [Moving Party]'s Motion in Limine, and the Court having considered the Motion, any response, and the arguments of counsel, and being fully advised;

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED as follows:

1. The Motion in Limine is GRANTED.
2. [Opposing party], its counsel, and its witnesses are precluded from offering, eliciting, mentioning, or referring at trial to the following: [list excluded matters].
3. Counsel shall admonish their witnesses to comply with this Order, and no party shall offer or reference any excluded matter without first obtaining a ruling at the bench outside the presence of the jury.

BY THE COURT:

______________________________
Hon. [________________]
District Court Judge

Sources and References

• North Dakota Rules of Evidence (N.D.R.Ev.), N.D. Supreme Court: https://www.ndcourts.gov/legal-resources/rules/ndrev
• N.D.R.Ev. 702 (Testimony by Experts): https://www.ndcourts.gov/legal-resources/rules/ndrev/702
• N.D.R.Ev. 401–403, 404, 407, 408, 411, 608, 609: https://www.ndcourts.gov/legal-resources/rules/ndrev
• N.D.R.Ct. 3.2 (Motion Practice): https://www.ndcourts.gov/legal-resources/rules/ndrct