Also known as: praesumptiones · presumption
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A presumption that the law or factfinder draws from a proven fact until rebutted by contrary evidence. The presumption allocates the burden of producing evidence to the opposing party while leaving the burden of persuasion on the party that originally bore it.
Phuong Pham executed a will leaving her estate to her niece and later revoked it after learning the niece had died. When the revocation proved ineffective under the failed-dispositive-objective rule, the court applied the presumption that the revocation should remain in effect because that outcome better matched Phuong's probable intention to benefit only living relatives.
Peter Park told his wife during their marriage that he had hidden assets from a prior business deal. When the government subpoenaed the wife to testify about the conversation, the court invoked the presumption that the communication was confidential and placed the burden on the government to overcome it rather than requiring the wife to prove confidentiality.
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Philip Powell and his sister signed a writing stating they would not revoke mutual wills leaving property to each other. After Philip later executed a new will, the court held that the earlier writing alone did not create a presumption of a contract not to revoke, so the new will controlled.
Paula Pierce introduced five years of maintenance logs showing that similar buildings suffered pipe failures from neglect. The court applied the presumption that the defendant's neglect caused the flooding and required the defendant to produce evidence rebutting causation while leaving the ultimate burden of persuasion on Paula.
Preston Pratt was married to the birth mother when she gave birth. Genetic testing later showed another man was the biological father. The court applied the presumption that Preston was the legal parent and required the biological father to overcome the presumption through adjudication or a valid denial rather than treating biology as automatically dispositive.
Priya Prasad signed a document labeled 'Last Will' that left her house to a neighbor. Evidence showed she executed it only to induce the neighbor to care for her during illness. The court treated the document as raising only a rebuttable presumption of testamentary intent and admitted extrinsic evidence showing it was a sham will not intended to take effect.
The party against whom the presumption is directed must produce evidence sufficient to permit a finding in its favor. The rule shifts only the burden of production. The burden of persuasion remains on the party that originally bore it.
No. The presumption continues unless overcome in a judicial proceeding or displaced by a valid statutory denial and acknowledgment. Biology is relevant but does not by itself terminate the presumed parent's legal status.
When the instrument on its face contains standard will recitals, extrinsic evidence is admissible to show it was executed for a collateral non-testamentary purpose and therefore never intended to operate as a will.
The logs create a presumption that shifts the burden of production to the defendant to come forward with rebuttal evidence. If the defendant produces none, the court may deny summary judgment on that element while the ultimate burden of persuasion stays with the plaintiff.
…proof of actual malice for an award of punitive damages, where general damages are concerned malice is "presumed." Such a presumption is inconsistent with the federal rule. "The power to create presumptions is not a means of escape from constitutional restrictions," Bailey v. Alabama, 219 U. S. 219, 239; "the showing of…