Short answer. No. Affidavits must state only facts within the affiant's direct personal knowledge that are admissible in evidence, and must show the affiant's competence to testify to those matters; violating this can subject the party or counsel to discipline and cause the inadmissible portion to be expunged.
What the law says
The affidavits required to be submitted under this Rule shall state only facts of direct personal knowledge of the affiants which are admissible in evidence, and shall show their competence to testify to the matters stated therein. A violation of this requirement may subject the party or the counsel who submits the same to disciplinary action, and shall be cause to expunge the inadmissible affidavit or portion thereof from the record.
Rule 70, Section 14 — Affidavits. Read the full provision →
Personal knowledge, not hearsay
Affidavits submitted under this Rule are held to a specific standard: they must state only facts of the affiant's direct personal knowledge, and those facts must be admissible in evidence. A witness cannot use an affidavit to relay something they merely heard about from someone else, however reliable the secondhand information might seem. This matters especially in ejectment cases because affidavits often substitute for live testimony under the summary procedure, so the same rules that would exclude hearsay from the witness stand apply with equal force to what goes into the sworn statement.
Showing competence to testify
It is not enough that the facts stated happen to be true; the affidavit must also show the affiant's competence to testify to the matters it contains, meaning it should establish how the affiant came to know those facts directly, not just assert them. An affidavit that simply recites conclusions, without laying out the basis for the affiant's knowledge — such as being physically present, or personally handling the matters described — fails this requirement even if what it says turns out to be accurate.
The penalty for getting it wrong
Violating this requirement carries real consequences. It may subject the party or the counsel who submitted the affidavit to disciplinary action, and it is cause to expunge the inadmissible affidavit, or the inadmissible portion of it, from the case record entirely — meaning that evidence simply will not be considered. Because affidavits carry so much weight under the summary procedure that governs ejectment, losing an affidavit to expungement can leave a party without the evidence it needed on a factual issue, so counsel has a direct stake in making sure every affidavit filed meets the personal-knowledge standard. Counsel who repeatedly submits defective affidavits risks more than losing that particular piece of evidence — the disciplinary exposure applies independently of whether the affidavit is ultimately expunged.
Related provisions
- Rule 70, Section 14 — Affidavits
- Rule 70, Section 10 — Submission of affidavits and position papers
- Rule 70, Section 9 — Record of preliminary conference