Attridge v. Cencorp Div. of Dover Technologies Intern., Inc.

• Decision Date: 30 December 1987
• Docket Number: Nos. 249,D,250,s. 249
• Citation: 836 F.2d 113
• Parties: , 24 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 577 Patrick C. ATTRIDGE and Joyce Attridge, Plaintiffs-Appellees. v. CENCORP DIVISION OF DOVER TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL, INC., Defendant. CENCORP DIVISION OF DOVER TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL, INC., Third-Party Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SYKES DATATRONICS, INC., Third-Party Defendant-Appellant. ockets 87-7479, 87-7505.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

Page 113

836 F.2d 113

56 USLW 2381, 24 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 577

Patrick C. ATTRIDGE and Joyce Attridge, Plaintiffs-Appellees. v. CENCORP DIVISION OF DOVER TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL, INC.,

Defendant.

CENCORP DIVISION OF DOVER TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL, INC., Third-Party Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SYKES DATATRONICS, INC., Third-Party Defendant-Appellant.

Nos. 249, 250, Dockets 87-7479, 87-7505.

United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit.

Argued Dec. 2, 1987.

Decided Dec. 30, 1987.

Stephen G. Schwarz, Faraci, Guadagnino, Lange & Johns, Rochester, N.Y., for plaintiffs-appellees.

James C. Gocker, Harris, Beach, Wilcox, Rubin & Levey, Rochester, N.Y. (Patricia A. Hulley, of counsel), for defendant-third-party plaintiff-appellant Cencorp Div. of Dover Technologies, Inc.

John P. Costello, Culley, Marks, Corbett, Tanenbaum, Reifsteck & Potter, Rochester, N.Y., for third-party defendant-appellant Sykes Datatronics, Inc.

Before KAUFMAN, MINER and DAVIS, ^* Circuit Judges.

IRVING R. KAUFMAN, Circuit Judge:

The American jury system, Alexis De Tocqueville observed, is "as direct and as extreme a consequence of the sovereignty of the people as universal suffrage." Accordingly, the sanctity of the jury room is among the basic tenets of our system of justice. Inquiries into the thought processes underlying a verdict have long been viewed as dangerous intrusions into the deliberative process. They undermine the finality of verdicts and invite fraud and abuse. We thus prevent jurors from impeaching their verdict to guard the jury's special place in our democratic heritage.

This practice, of course, requires the verdict to reflect the true intent of the jury. Unyielding refusal to question jurors is without sound judgment where the court surmises that the verdict announced differs from the result intended.

Here, after the jury was discharged, two jurors stated to a courtroom deputy that they had rendered a verdict different from the judgment announced. Once informed, the judge promptly recalled the jury for an inquiry. Concluding after questioning all jurors in chambers that they unanimously intended a verdict different from the one announced, the court wisely granted the plaintiffs' motion for entry of a corrected verdict despite objections from both defendants. This appeal ensued.

Appellee Patrick Attridge was employed as a maintenance engineer by third party defendant-appellant Sykes Datatronics (hereafter Sykes), a manufacturer of telecommunications equipment located in Rochester, New York. Among other duties, he was responsible for installation, upkeep and repair of electrical equipment.

On July 10, 1984, Attridge connected the company's new Mark V Profiler to a 110 volt power source. The Profiler, manufactured and sold by defendant-appellant Cencorp Division of Dover Technologies International (hereafter Cencorp), is used to cut circuit boards for computers. The operator places the circuit board on the machine's work surface, lowers a blade mechanism and cuts the board. Appellee had no prior experience with the machine.

On July 11, 1984, Attridge was asked to work on the Profiler again, this time to correct erratic behavior by the blade. He discovered that the machine's hydraulic motor, which controlled the blade mechanism, was wired for use with a 220 volt power source. After rewiring, the machine still did not cut accurately. Accordingly, Attridge lowered the blade mechanism and removed the machine's cover to make further adjustments. While he adjusted the machine, it inexplicably started. The blade mechanism returned to its upright position, crushing Attridge's left hand between the blade mechanism and the machine's steel top.

Because of this mishap, appellee suffered severed tendons in three fingers, also breaking a bone in one of them. He was hospitalized twice for surgical procedures. Today, he remains permanently partially disabled.

In June 1985, Attridge filed suit against Cencorp, alleging strict product liability, negligence and breach of warranty. His wife Joyce brought a derivative action for loss of consortium. Cencorp denied all liability, and contended that Patrick's injuries derived from his own negligence. Cencorp also brought a third party indemnification action against Sykes, charging that Sykes's negligence caused Attridge's injury. The trial commenced on March 23, 1987 before Judge Telesca of the United States Distrct Court for the Western District of New York.

In its charge to the jury, the court outlined Patrick's theories of liability. Regarding Cencorp's contributory negligence defense, he instructed the jury that if Patrick's own negligence contributed to his injury, "then the total award of damages to the plaintiff must be reduced by an amount equal to the percentage of fault or contributory negligence chargeable to the plaintiff." Thereafter, Judge Telesca addressed the question of damages. He stated that if the plaintiff prevailed on the issue of liability, the jury would be required to determine fair and adequate compensation for any injuries attributable to the defendant.

The court then turned to Joyce Attridge's claim for loss of consortium. The jury was instructed that loss of consortium claims are derivative, and that Joyce could recover only if Patrick recovered as well. The court failed, however, to inform the jury that, because loss of consortium claims are derivative, Joyce's recovery would be reduced in proportion to Patrick's contributory negligence.

Finally, the judge charged on Cencorp's indemnification claim against Sykes, instructing the jury to apportion liability between them.

Before deliberations commenced, the court provided the jury with a special verdict form containing ten questions. The first six questions recited the plaintiffs' various theories of liability and asked the jury to determine their applicability. Question seven asked, "What do you feel will fairly and adequately compensate plaintiffs for (A) personal injuries to Patrick Attridge? ... (B) loss of consortium to Joyce Attridge?" Question eight asked, "What is the percentage of responsibility chargeable to the defendant Cencorp, and what is the percentage of responsibility chargeable to the plaintiff Patrick Attridge?" The last two queries required the jury to apportion liability between Cencorp and Sykes.

The jury returned its verdict on April 2, at approximately 4:15 p.m. In response to the first five questions, it found that a defect in Cencorp's Mark V Profiler proximately caused the injury to Patrick Attridge, but that the plaintiff's own negligence contributed to his injury. In response to question six, the jury determined that Joyce Attridge could recover damages for loss of her husband's consortium.

It then turned to the question of damages and to the apportionment of responsibility. The seventh question asked the jurors what damages the plaintiffs had suffered. They responded by awarding Patrick Attridge $100,000 and Joyce Attridge $50,000, for a "Total Verdict Amount" of $150,000. In the eighth query, the jury held Patrick 80% responsible for his injury, assigning only 20% responsibility to the defendant, Cencorp. This would have yielded a net recovery of $20,000 for Patrick and $10,000 for Joyce, after reductions for Patrick's negligence.

Finally, the jury considered Cencorp's third party indemnification action against Sykes, dividing responsibility for the 20% portion of the verdict not attributable to the plaintiff's negligence. The jury determined that Sykes bore 75% of the fault and Cencorp 25%. Thus Sykes would pay 15% of the total verdict while Cencorp contributed 5%. The jury was polled and discharged, and the jurors returned to the pool of jurors available for future cases.

Shortly thereafter, two jurors asked a courtroom deputy to excuse them from further service due to personal hardship. During that conversation, the jurors expressed their belief that the $150,000 verdict represented the net recovery due the plaintiffs after any reductions for comparative negligence, rather than an unadjusted verdict. The deputy promptly informed Judge Telesca of this conversation.

The judge immediately sought to recall the jury and counsel for all parties. The hour was late and several of the jurors had already left the courthouse. The judge informed counsel what had transpired and ordered the jury recalled for the following morning at 9:30 a.m.

The following day, April 3, Judge Telesca met with counsel in chambers. The jurors were kept waiting outside, unaware of the purpose for their recall. The judge told counsel he intended to question each juror individually, on the record and in their presence, to ascertain whether the verdict announced reflected their true intent. Counsel for Cencorp and Sykes objected that the court was inducing the jurors to impeach their verdict. The court denied the objections and conducted the juror interviews.

The judge first interviewed the jurors whose encounter with the deputy had prompted the post-trial proceedings. In each case, he granted the request to be excused from further service. Then, without further discussion, he asked them, "What was your understanding as to what the verdict was?" Both jurors unambiguously stated they intended Patrick to receive $100,000 and Joyce to receive $50,000 after reductions. The other four jurors of this jury of six responded similarly.

The court delayed entry of judgment until April 15 to allow the parties to file any motions regarding the juror interviews. Sykes moved for a new trial based on jury confusion. Cencorp sought entry of judgment in the amounts of $20,000 for Patrick and $10,000 for Joyce. The plaintiffs moved to correct the record to reflect the verdict "actually" reached or, in the alternative, for a new trial. On April 17, the court granted plaintiffs' first motion and entered judgment of $100,000 for Patrick Attridge and $50,000 for Joyce Attridge.

Appellants Cencorp and Sykes...