The Eighth Circuit ruled that supplemental tax returns filed by a Plaintiff were admissible as probative of his character for untruthfulness. In Gaillard v. Jim’s Water Service, Inc., 535 F.3d 771 (8th Cir. 2008) Plaintiff was injured while on the shoulder of a road when struck by a vehicle and a trailer driven by the Defendant. After the accident Plaintiff filed supplemental tax returns which claimed additional income as of much as $120,000.00 per year for the previous few years. During those years he declared and paid tax on around $30,000.00 per year. Plaintiff moved to keep out the supplemental tax returns as more prejudicial than probative under Rule 403. The trial court ruled that the evidence that Plaintiff had tried to commit fraud on the United States was relative to his character for truthfulness under Rule 608(b). Defendant offered the returns to attack the credibility of his testimony and also to impeach the credibility of Plaintiff’s economic expert, who testified that he typically relies on an individual’s income tax return as the most reliable source of wage verification, yet ignored the untrustworthy returns. In holding that the District Court properly admitted the returns the Appellate Court pointed out that when the Plaintiff presented evidence to suggest he suffered a loss of income, he opened the door for defendants to produce evidence to contradict his claims. In addition, the Court said:
“It matters not that Gaillard’s expert did not rely on the returns. The district court properly found the tax returns were admissible as impeachment evidence under Rule 608(b), which allows the “court in its discretion to allow cross examination of witnesses regarding specific instances of a witness’s own conduct if the past experiences are probative of a character of untruthfulness. (citing United States v. Beal, 430 F.3d 950, 956 (8th Cir. 2005); Fed.R.Evid. 608(b)) (pp 778 – 9).”