TITLE FOUR — RELEVANCY AND ITS LIMITS
Rule 408. Compromise Offers and Negotiations in Civil Cases
Prohibited Uses. Evidence of the following is not admissible— on behalf of any party—either to prove or disprove the validity or amount of a disputed claim:
furnishing, promising, or offering—or accepting, promising to accept, or offering to accept—a valuable consideration in compromising or attempting to compromise the claim or any other claim, and
conduct or a statement made during compromise negotiations about the claim.
Exceptions. The court may admit this evidence for another purpose, such as proving a witness’s bias or prejudice or other state of mind, negating a contention of undue delay, or proving an effort to obstruct a criminal investigation or prosecution.
A Claim, Disputed. This Rule applies only where, at the time of the conduct or statement, a claim existed and its validity or its amount was disputed. A demand made before any claim has arisen, a statement made when liability and amount are both conceded, and a discussion of terms of performance under an undisputed obligation are not within Rule 408(1).
Scope of the Protection. Rule 408(1) applies to conduct and statements made:
in negotiations conducted in person, in game, in the proceeding communications, in a Discord channel or direct message opened or used for the purpose of negotiation, or in any writing exchanged for that purpose;
in a conference convened by the court or a magistrate judge for the purpose of settlement, and in a mediation however convened;
in negotiations with the Solicitor General conducted under the authority to accept settlements conferred by 7 R. Stat. § 122.006, and in negotiations with any officer authorized to compromise a claim on behalf of a government; and
by a party, by counsel of record, and by an agent or representative acting for a party in the negotiation.
Facts Otherwise Discoverable. A fact, document, or thing is not rendered inadmissible merely because it was disclosed in the course of compromise negotiations. A party may not, by producing or reciting evidence in a negotiation, immunize that evidence from discovery or from use at trial. An admission of a fact made in the negotiation, as distinct from the fact itself, remains within Rule 408(1).
Completed Settlements and Releases. The fact and the terms of a completed settlement, release, covenant not to sue, or agreement not to enforce a judgment are not admissible to prove or disprove the validity or amount of a disputed claim. Such an agreement is admissible:
where its existence, construction, enforcement, or breach is itself at issue;
to prove the bias, prejudice, or interest of a witness or of a settling party who remains in the case, subject to Rule 403;
to establish an amount to be credited against a judgment; and
to establish a defense of accord and satisfaction, release, or res judicata.
Offers of Judgment. An offer of judgment made under Rid. R. Civ. P. 49 is governed by that rule. Its inadmissibility, and the consequences of its rejection, are determined there and not by this Rule.
Obstruction and Tampering. Evidence otherwise within Rule 408(1) is admissible under Rule 408(2) to prove an effort to obstruct a criminal investigation or prosecution, including conduct that would constitute obstruction of justice under R.C.C. § 2.16 or witness tampering under R.C.C. § 1.10. A payment or an offer of a payment conditioned upon a person’s withholding testimony, absenting themselves from a proceeding, or withdrawing a criminal complaint is not a compromise of a disputed civil claim within Rule 408(1), whatever its form.
Procedure; Limiting Instruction.
A party intending to offer evidence within Rule 408(1) for a purpose permitted by Rule 408(2) shall proceed by motion in limine under Rule 103(6) where the occasion can be anticipated, and otherwise shall obtain a ruling out of the hearing of a jury before the question is asked or the exhibit offered.
The proponent shall identify the permitted purpose with precision and the issue to which it is directed. The court shall apply Rule 403 and shall admit no more of the negotiation than the permitted purpose requires.
Where evidence is admitted under Rule 408(2) the court shall, on timely request, restrict it to its proper scope and instruct the fact finder under Rule 105. In a trial without a jury the court shall state the limited purpose on the record.
Criminal Cases. This Rule applies in civil cases only. The admissibility, in a civil or a criminal case, of a plea, of an offer to plead or to admit, and of a statement made in connection with a plea or such an offer is governed by Rule 410 and by Rid. R. Crim. P. 12(f). Nothing in this Rule renders admissible in a criminal case a statement which Rule 410 excludes, and nothing in this Rule excludes from a criminal case a statement which Rule 410 does not reach.