D hired Alabama Wildlife Removal (AWR) as an independent contractor in January 2017 to remove birds from palm trees near D. Echeverry (P) stood near the worksite in front of D as she waited to cross an adjacent street. AWR was using a manlift to reach the treetops. As the manlift was being moved from one group of trees to another, it struck P, running her over and causing a comminuted fracture in her lower right leg and ankle. The AWR employee serving as the flagman had not alerted P to the movement of the manlift as he passed her. P filed a negligence lawsuit in state court against AWR, its owner, Phillip Padgett, manlift operator Richard Tyler, and D. D removed the action to federal court. Prior to the trial, D sought to exclude certain categories of evidence, including (1) a certificate of insurance given by AWR to D showing an expired insurance policy. The court denied D’s motion. The jury found D negligent and assigned it 49% of the fault. The remaining fault was assigned to AWR (50%) and P herself (1%).

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