QUESTION

Can my spouse serve as a witness on my behalf concerning a property damage case?

Asked on Jun 18th, 2014 on Civil Litigation - Georgia
More details to this question:
Im a little confused on this snippet from my counties website concerning pre-trail matters so here it is: 'If the case involves damage to property, the Plaintiff will need evidence of the Defendant's responsibility for the damages, the amount of the damage, medical bills, repair bills, proof of lost wages or other losses. If the case involves damage to property, the Plaintiff must be able to prove the value of the property prior to the damage and the value after the damage. The party claiming damage must be able to prove the value themselves or bring someone to Court who is qualified. The Court cannot make any award based upon a 'guess' as to any losses. Damages must always be proven by live testimony'. I have photos, the piece that was damaged, and a written confession from the company who damaged my property. Would these hold up in civil court without live testimony? If not what else would I need?
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1 ANSWER

Appellate Practice Attorney serving New York, NY
No one can tell you whether you have sufficient evidence to convince the Judge of what you're claiming, but, assuming you can authenticate (through your own live testimony) the evidence you are trying to submit (i.e. you took the photos and can testify that they accurately reflect the property damage, you saw an authorized representative of the company sign the "confession" and can testify that he signed it and it hasn't been altered, you can testify with personal knowledge that the damaged piece comes from your property, etc.) it should be sufficient to prove that the property was damaged by the defendant.  However, you've given no indication of any proof of the amount of damages.  Are you claiming a diminution in the value of your property due to the damage?  If so, do you have an expert who will testify that the property is now worth $X less than it was before it was damaged?  Are you claiming the amount you had or will have to spend to repair the damage?  If so, do you have any invoices or estimates from repair services, or any cancelled checks or receipts or other documentation, to show how much you paid to repair the damage? If your wife has personal knowledge of the matters about which you want her to testify, certainly she could be a witness for you.  But, unless she has personal knowledge of things about which you don['t have personal knowledge, I don't see how her testimony is going to add anything to your own.
Answered on Jun 19th, 2014 at 4:04 PM

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