A landlord was sued by a tenant for injuries the tenant allegedly sustained in the apartment when a ceiling fan fell. During a pre-trial settlement discussion, the landlord offered to pay the tenant $10,000 if the tenant agreed to dismiss the lawsuit. The tenant rejected the offer. At trial, the landlord testified that they believed the ceiling fan was safe. The tenant's attorney seeks to introduce evidence of the landlord's settlement offer to impeach the landlord's testimony. Is the settlement offer admissible?
Yes, because the evidence is offered for impeachment, not to prove liability.
Yes, because the offer directly contradicts the landlord's in-court testimony, making it relevant for assessing credibility.
No, because a settlement offer is considered legally irrelevant to the validity of the underlying claim.
No, because compromise offers are inadmissible to impeach a witness's testimony by contradiction.
Under Federal Rule of Evidence 408, offers to compromise a disputed claim are inadmissible to prove or disprove the validity or amount of the claim. Crucially, they are also inadmissible to impeach a witness's testimony through contradiction or a prior inconsistent statement. The public policy for this rule is to encourage open and candid settlement negotiations. Therefore, the landlord's settlement offer cannot be used to challenge their testimony. While this evidence is barred, other methods of impeachment, if available, could be used.
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