Colorificio Italiano Max Meyer, S.P.A. v. S/S Hellenic Wave v. Superintendence Co.

CARSWELL, Circuit Judge:

This case presents a very narrow issue of admissibility of evidence in an admiralty case.1 We conclude that the district court did not err in excluding appellants’ proffer of certain survey reports and a chemical analysis. All of these documents were prepared in Genoa, Italy, and the authors were not before the court. Appellant concedes that the proffer was entirely hearsay, but urges that it was an abuse of the trial court’s discretion to deny their admission into evidence. Appellant correctly calls our attention to the settled proposition that the elaborate rules of…