Rule 301 Presumptions in Civil Cases Generally

Here's a plain English summary:

In a civil lawsuit, sometimes the law assumes something is true unless proven otherwise. This is called a presumption. If a presumption works against you, you have to bring in some evidence to challenge it. Otherwise, the court will just accept the presumption as fact.

But bringing in evidence to challenge a presumption doesn't change who has to prove their overall case. The person who originally had to convince the judge or jury still has that job. The other side just has to poke holes in the presumption. They don't have to win the whole argument on that point alone.

For example, if the law presumes a letter was received because it was mailed, the person who says they never got it needs to offer some proof of that, like testimony that they checked their mail every day and it never arrived. But the person suing them still has to prove their overall case by a preponderance of the evidence. Challenging the presumption doesn't flip that burden onto the other side.