Admission

Question 1

Original Document Rule; When not needed. (When can secondary evidence be presented)

Answer 1

When the subject of the inquiry is the contents of a document, no evidence is admissible except the document itself.

EXP:
a. Lost, destroyed, or cannot be produced without bad faith one the part of the offeror
b. When the document is in the custody or under the control of the adverse party, and the latter fails to produce it after reasonable notice, or the document cannot be obtained by local judicial process.
c. When the original consists of numerous accounts or other documents which cannot be examined in court without great loss of time and the facts sought to be established from them is only the general result of the whole
d. When original is a public record in the custody of a public officer or is recorded in a public office
e. When original is not closely related to a controlling issue. (Collateral issue)

Question 2

Requisites for admissibility of documentary evidence?

Answer 2

a. Relevant
b. Authenticated
c. Authenticated by a competent witness
d. Formally offered

Question 3

Difference between “original” and “duplicate”?

When is a duplicate not admissible?

Question 4

When can original document is unavailable/lost or destroyed?

How contents are proved?

Answer 4

For secondary evidence to be admissible, the following must be proved:
1. its existence and execution,
2. cause of its unavailability
3. there was no bad faith

Secondary evidence to be presented:
a. a copy,
b. recital of its contents in some authentic document,
c. testimony of a witness

Contents may be proved by:
1. any person to whom the parties of the instrument has stated or confessed the contents thereof, a copy, by recital of its contents in some authentic document.

Question 5

When the original is in the custody or control of an adverse party?

Answer 5

1. Original exists
2. Custody or in control of the adverse party
3. Reasonable notice has been given to the adverse party
4. adverse party failed to produce the original document OR original cannot be obtained by local judicial processes or procedures

Question 6

When the original consists of numerous accounts or other documents which cannot be examined in court without great loss of time and the facts sought to be established from them is only the general result of the whole; Requisites

Answer 6

1. Original consists of numerous accounts of other documents
2. Cannot be examined without great loss of time
3. Fact sought to be established is a general result of a whole.

Must establish:
1. The voluminous character of the evidence
2. The source documents are made accessible to the adverse party so that the correctness may be tested on cross

Question 7

Will; Holographic Will; loss or destroyed requisites

Question 8

Parole evidence rule; exceptions

Answer 8

1. intrinsic ambiguity, mistake, imperfection in the written agreement
2. failure to express the true intent of the parties
3. validity of the written agreement
4. existence of other terms agreed to by the parties or their successors in interest after the execution of the written agreement

must be put in issue through a verified pleading

Question 9

Difference between original document rule v. parole evidence rule