§ 4549.Admissibility of an opposing party’s statement.

Hearsay rules keep out-of-court statements from being used for the truth of what they assert, but the law has long carved out one common-sense exception: what your own side said, or what someone speaking on your behalf said, should not need a hearsay objection to come in against you. CPLR 4549 puts that exception directly into the statute books.

The rule covers two situations. First, a statement by someone the opposing party authorized to speak on the subject counts as an admission, no matter who that person is. Second, a statement by the opposing party's agent or employee is admissible if it concerns a matter within the scope of that agency or employment, and the agency or employment relationship existed when the statement was made. A former employee's statement made after leaving the job, or one on a subject outside their job duties, falls outside the rule.

Because CPLR 4549 removes the hearsay objection rather than any other one, a statement admitted under it can still face other challenges, relevance, privilege, or the statement's own reliability as a matter of weight for the fact-finder to sort out.