Party domination of proof

Fed. R. Evid. 502(a) & (b) ("(b) Inadvertent disclosure. When made in a Federal proceeding or to a Federal office or agency, the disclosure does not operate as a waiver in a Federal or State proceeding if: the disclosure is inadvertent; the holder of the privilege or protection took reasonable steps to prevent disclosure; and the...A waiver of the attorney-client privilege does not result if a protected communication is inadvertently disclosed during formal discovery not by inadvertent disclosure during formal discovery even though reasonable steps were taken to prevent such inadvertent disclosure.

Cf. Brazos River Authority v. GE Ionics, Inc., 469 F.3d 416, 426 (5th Cir. 2006) (upholding trial court's exclusion of evidence of similar fires at other facilities because "the propensities of a particular person to act a certain way are not at issue in this case, which involves the properties and...The prohibition against circumstantial use of character -- the use of character, propensity, or disposition to show conduct on a particular occasion -- is inapplicable in trials of civil actions.

United States v. Johnson, 28 F.3d 1487, 1498 (8th Cir. 1994) (upholding trial court's admission into evidence of money transfer applications because "the government established an adequate foundation ... upon which the....Handwriting or any other matter requiring authentication may be authenticated by having an expert witness compare the disputed handwriting or other matter with an authenticated specimen or exemplar and testifying that the author or maker of the disputed handwriting or other matter and the specimen or exemplar is the same person.