State Court Motion in Limine - Nevada

MOTION IN LIMINE AND POINTS AND AUTHORITIES IN SUPPORT

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

TEMPLATE INSTRUCTIONS

☐ Replace every bracketed placeholder with case-specific information
☐ Frame any expert challenge under NRS 50.275 and the Hallmark v. Eldridge factors — Nevada has NOT adopted Daubert
☐ Cite Nevada evidence statutes by NRS number (48.015/48.025/48.035, 48.045, 48.095, 48.105, 48.135, 50.275)
☐ Check your district's meet-and-confer requirement for motions in limine (e.g., EDCR 2.47) before filing
☐ Renew each objection at trial — a ruling on this motion preserves nothing by itself
☐ Remove all template instructions and guidance notes before filing

1. CAPTION

[________________] JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, [________________] COUNTY, NEVADA

Case No.: [________________]
Dept. No.: [____]
Judge: Hon. [________________]
Trial Date: [__/__/____]

2. MOTION IN LIMINE

COMES NOW [Moving Party Name] ("Movant"), by and through undersigned counsel, and respectfully moves this Court, in advance of trial, for an order prohibiting [Opposing Party Name], its counsel, and its witnesses from offering, mentioning, eliciting, referring to, or in any manner conveying to the jury — directly or indirectly — any of the matters set forth below, without first approaching the bench and obtaining a ruling outside the presence and hearing of the jury.

The matters identified below are inadmissible under the Nevada Revised Statutes governing evidence, and any reference to them before the jury would be so prejudicial that an instruction to disregard could not cure the harm. This Motion is supported by the following Points and Authorities.

3. POINTS AND AUTHORITIES IN SUPPORT

3.1 Introduction

This case is set for jury trial on [__/__/____]. Movant anticipates that, absent an order in limine, [Opposing Party] will attempt to introduce evidence or argument that is irrelevant, unfairly prejudicial, or otherwise inadmissible under Nevada law. This Motion seeks to prevent the injection of such matters into trial, where their prejudicial effect could not be undone after the jury has heard them.

3.2 Legal Standard

Relevance — NRS 48.015, 48.025. "Relevant evidence" means evidence having any tendency to make the existence of a fact of consequence more or less probable. All relevant evidence is admissible except as otherwise provided; evidence that is not relevant is not admissible.

Unfair prejudice — NRS 48.035. Although relevant, evidence is not admissible if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury; and may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence.

Character and prior acts — NRS 48.045. Evidence of a person's character is not admissible to prove that the person acted in conformity therewith; evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is inadmissible to prove character but may be admissible for another purpose, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident.

Subsequent remedial measures — NRS 48.095. Evidence of measures taken after an event that, if taken previously, would have made the event less likely to occur, is not admissible to prove negligence or culpable conduct, though it may be admissible for another purpose, such as proving ownership, control, feasibility of precautionary measures, or impeachment.

Compromise — NRS 48.105. Evidence of furnishing, offering, or promising to furnish (or accepting) a valuable consideration in compromising a disputed claim, and conduct or statements made in compromise negotiations, is not admissible to prove liability for or the amount of the claim.

Payment of medical expenses — NRS 48.115. Evidence of furnishing, offering, or promising to pay medical, hospital, or similar expenses occasioned by an injury is not admissible to prove liability for the injury.

Liability insurance — NRS 48.135. Evidence that a person was or was not insured against liability is not admissible upon the issue of whether the person acted negligently or otherwise wrongfully.

Expert testimony — NRS 50.275 (Hallmark, NOT Daubert). Under NRS 50.275, a witness qualified as an expert by special knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education may testify to matters within the scope of that knowledge if scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact. Nevada has NOT adopted the federal Daubert standard. Expert admissibility is governed by NRS 50.275 as construed in Hallmark v. Eldridge, 124 Nev. 492, 189 P.3d 646 (2008), which requires the proponent to satisfy the qualification, assistance, and limited-scope requirements; in assessing whether the testimony will assist the trier of fact, the court considers whether the opinion is within a recognized field of expertise, can be and has been tested, has been published or peer-reviewed, is generally accepted, and is based more on particularized facts than on assumption or conjecture.

Golden-rule and sympathy argument. Argument inviting jurors to place themselves in a party's position, or appealing to passion, sympathy, or prejudice rather than the evidence, is improper and should be excluded.

3.3 Specific Matters To Be Excluded

Ground 1 — Irrelevant and unfairly prejudicial evidence of [________________________________].
This evidence has no tendency to prove any fact of consequence; even if marginally relevant, its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice and confusion under NRS 48.015–48.035.

Ground 2 — Character evidence and prior bad acts of [________________].
Inadmissible under NRS 48.045 to show conduct in conformity, and offered for no proper non-propensity purpose.

Ground 3 — Subsequent remedial measures.
[Repairs / design changes / policy changes] taken after [the event] are inadmissible under NRS 48.095 to prove negligence or culpable conduct.

Ground 4 — Compromise and settlement negotiations.
Any settlement discussions, demands, offers, or statements made in compromise negotiations regarding [________________] are inadmissible under NRS 48.105.

Ground 5 — Liability insurance and payment of medical expenses.
The existence, absence, or amount of any liability insurance (NRS 48.135), and any offer or payment of medical or similar expenses (NRS 48.115), are inadmissible on the issue of fault.

Ground 6 — Inadmissible expert opinion of [Expert Name].
The opinions of [Expert Name] fail the requirements of NRS 50.275 and Hallmark v. Eldridge because [the witness is not qualified in the relevant field / the opinion will not assist the trier of fact / the opinion exceeds the scope of the witness's specialized knowledge / the methodology is untested, unpublished, not generally accepted, or rests on conjecture]. The opinion should be excluded.

Ground 7 — Hearsay statements of [________________].
[Out-of-court statement] offered for the truth of the matter asserted is inadmissible hearsay not within any recognized exception (NRS Chapter 51).

Ground 8 — Golden-rule, sympathy, and "send a message" argument.
Counsel should be barred from asking jurors to place themselves in a party's position or from appealing to passion, sympathy, or community prejudice.

Ground 9 — [Additional ground: ________________________________].
[State the evidence and the basis for exclusion.]

3.4 Relief Requested

WHEREFORE, Movant respectfully requests that the Court:

1. GRANT this Motion in Limine and enter an order excluding each category of evidence and argument identified above;
2. INSTRUCT counsel for [Opposing Party] to refrain from any direct or indirect reference to the excluded matters in voir dire, opening statement, examination of witnesses, exhibits, or closing argument;
3. DIRECT counsel for [Opposing Party] to admonish and instruct each of its witnesses, before testifying, not to mention or volunteer any of the excluded matters in the presence of the jury;
4. REQUIRE that, before any party offers or attempts to elicit any excluded matter, counsel first approach the bench and obtain a ruling outside the presence and hearing of the jury; and
5. GRANT such other and further relief as the Court deems just.

DATED: [__/__/____]

Respectfully submitted,

[FIRM NAME]

By: ______________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME], [Nev. Bar No. ________________]
[FIRM ADDRESS] | [CITY, STATE ZIP]
[TELEPHONE] | [EMAIL]
Attorney for [Moving Party]

4. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on [__/__/____], a true and correct copy of the foregoing was served upon all counsel of record via the Nevada eFiling system (Odyssey eFileNV) or as indicated below:

[Opposing Counsel Name] | [Firm] | [Address] | [Email]

Service method: ☐ Nevada eFiling ☐ U.S. Mail ☐ Email ☐ Hand delivery

______________________________
[Attorney Name], [Nev. Bar No. ________________]

5. [PROPOSED] ORDER

[________________] JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, [________________] COUNTY, NEVADA

Case No.: [________________] Dept. No.: [____]

ORDER ON MOTION IN LIMINE

Upon consideration of Movant's Motion in Limine, any opposition, and the applicable law, the Court ORDERS as follows as to each numbered ground:

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that counsel shall instruct their witnesses to comply with this Order and shall approach the bench before referring to any matter excluded above.

DATED this ______ day of ________________, 20____.

______________________________
District Judge

Sources and References

• NRS Chapter 48 — Admissibility Generally (relevance, prejudice, character, subsequent remedial measures, compromise, insurance): https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-048.html
• NRS 50.275 — Testimony by experts: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-050.html
• Hallmark v. Eldridge, 124 Nev. 492, 189 P.3d 646 (2008) — Nevada's NRS 50.275 expert standard (Nevada has not adopted Daubert): https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/nv-supreme-court/1465588.html
• Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993) — persuasive only in Nevada