| LOCAL NO. 831, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION | | | CASE NO. 426 |
| OF FIREFIGHTERS, AFL-CIO, | | | |
| | | ||
| Petitioner, | | | |
| | | ||
| v. | | | ORDER |
| | | ||
| CITY OF NORTH PLATTE, LINCOLN COUNTY, | | | |
| NEBRASKA, | | | |
| | | ||
| Defendant. | | |
Appearances:
For the Petitioner: Donald E. Rowlands II
Baskin & Rowlands
For the Respondent: William A. Harding
Nelson & Harding
Before: Judges Berkheimer, Gradwohl and Orr
GRADWOHL, J:
The Defendant filed a "Motion In Opposition" seeking "to prohibit the Petitioner from calling Defendant's expert witness to testify regarding the Petitioner's case in chief." The witness in question conducted a wage comparability study during the Fall of 1981 covering all City employees, including the members of the fire department involved in this case, for the primary purpose of aiding
the City in establishing and maintaining sound personnel practices. See Testimony presented at the Hearing on Temporary Relief, September 3, 1981, contained in Volume 1 of the Bill of Exceptions.
Defendant cites no Nebraska authorities in support of its Motion. Section 48-809 states that "In the taking of evidence, the rules of evidence, prevailing in the trial of civil cases in Nebraska. shall be observed by the Commission of Industrial Relations." Section 27-402 states that all relevant evidence is admissible except as otherwise provided in the federal or state constitutions, federal or state statutes, the Nebraska Evidence Rules, or by other rules adopted by the Supreme Court of Nebraska. Similarly, Section 27-501 states that no person has the privilege to refuse to be a witness, refuse to disclose any matter, refuse to produce any object or writing, or prevent another from being a witness or disclosing any matter or producing any object or writing except as otherwise provided in the federal or state constitutions, federal or state statutes, the Nebraska Evidence Rules, or by other rules adopted by the Supreme Court of Nebraska. The Commission is unaware of any such authority limiting the admissibility of the testimony of James Jensen, the City's expert witness, in this matter. See Pretrial Conference Report and Order, January 28, 1982, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers v. City of Fremont , Page 2, Paragraph 7.
The Defendant's Motion In Opposition is hereby Overruled.
Filed March 9, 1982
_______________________________