Section 490.680

Title XXXIII EVIDENCE AND LEGAL ADVERTISEMENTS

Chapter 490

Effective - 28 Aug 1949   

  490.680.  Records, competent evidence, when. — A record of an act, condition or event, shall, insofar as relevant, be competent evidence if the custodian or other qualified witness testifies to its identity and the mode of its preparation, and if it was made in the regular course of business, at or near the time of the act, condition or event, and if, in the opinion of the court, the sources of information, method and time of preparation were such as to justify its admission.

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(L. 1949 p. 275 § 3)

(1965) Testimony by parts manager of garage was satisfactory foundation for admission of repair bill under requirements of Uniform Business Records as Evidence Act. Langdon v. Koch (A.), 393 S.W.2d 66.

(1968) Held that this section does not make admissible into evidence matters which would be otherwise inadmissible.  Stewart v. Sioux City & New Orleans Barge Lines, Inc.  (Mo.), 431 S.W.2d 205.

(1973) Court held not to have abused discretion in refusing to admit letter in evidence, meaning of language "the sources of information, method and time of preparation were such as to justify its admission" discussed. Thomas v. Fred Weber Contractor, Inc. (A.), 498 S.W.2d 811.

(1973) Fact that custodian of record had no personal knowledge of truth of record does not bar admission of record in evidence. Held that person "making the report" not person "offering the recital" must be competent to testify that the recital is correct. Thiens v. Harlan Fruit Co. (A.), 499 S.W.2d 223.

(1975) Although record is admissible as exception to hearsay rule, evidence which would not be competent if offered in person is not admissible. Tri-State Motor Transit Co. v. Navajo Freight Lines, Inc. (A.), 528 S.W.2d 475.

(1976) A trial court has wide discretion in accepting records into evidence once the requirements of this section are satisfied.  State v. Jones (A.), 534 S.W.2d 556.

(1976) To be admissible in a report it must be shown that the report is based on the entrant's own observation or on information of others whose business duty it was to transmit it to the entrant. State v. Boyington (A.), 544 S.W.2d 300.

(1977)  Pathologist reports and autopsy reports constitute admissible business records if statutory requirements are met.  State v. Jennings (A.), 555 S.W.2d 366.

(1987) Letter from plaintiff's doctor to plaintiff's lawyer indicating that plaintiff was injured in bus accident and briefly describing injuries is not admissible pursuant to this section for the letter was not a contemporaneous record of the doctor's observations, diagnosis, treatment, and progress of plaintiff but self-serving statement. Carmack v. BiState Development Agency, 731 S.W.2d 518 (Mo.App.E.D.).

(2000) A 911 tape of victim reporting assault qualified as business record under hearsay rule where qualified witness testified as to tape's identity and mode of preparation and record was made in regular course of police department business.  State v. Edwards, 31 S.W.3d 73 (Mo.App.W.D.).