Clausen v. Storage Tank Development Corp.

Eric Clausen (plaintiff) was injured slipping on a ramp at a fuel terminal owned by Storage Tank Development Corp. (defendant) and occupied by Sea-3, and sued both for negligence; the defendants disputed which of them, or Clausen's own employer, had controlled the ramp. Clausen introduced evidence that Storage Tank later replaced the ramp with stairs at Sea-3's request, offered specifically to show Storage Tank's control over the ramp rather than to prove negligence. The district court admitted the evidence with a limiting instruction, the jury found for Clausen, and Storage Tank appealed the evidentiary ruling.