In Shawn M. Wallace v. Richard R. Woodford (2016AP2359), the Court of Appeals District III maintained that Central Mudracing Association and Chippewa Valley Antique Engine & Model Club were not negligent in a mud bog racing accident that injured plaintiff Shawn Wallace.

The appeals court denied Wallace’s argument that the court should have included evidence of a prior accident at the track. The 2005 accident was properly excluded because the circumstances were substantially different from the accident at issue, Central Mudracing took remedial action after the first accident, and the jury could draw the same inferences with or without knowing of the 2005 accident.

Wallace further argued that Central Mudracing and Chippewa Valley made improper closing arguments that indicated no previous accidents had occurred on the track. However, the appeals court held that the defense attorneys’ claims implied no similar accident had previously occurred. The closing arguments were consistent with the court’s decision to exclude the 2005 accident evidence based on dissimilarities in the circumstances.

Finally, Wallace argued the court should have included a report from an accident reconstruction specialist, but the appeals court upheld that the expert testimony failed to meet the admissibility criteria in Wis. Stat. § 907.02.