Baker v. Dillon, 24850.
| Decision Date | 08 April 1968 |
| Docket Number | No. 24850.,24850. |
| Citation | 389 F.2d 57 |
| Parties | Fred BAKER, Appellant, v. Allen G. DILLON, Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
Jack Kleiner, Paul T. O'Connor, O'Connor & Kleiner, Atlanta, Ga., for appellant.
F. Thomas Young, Cam U. Young, Valdosta, Ga., for appellee, Young, Young & Ellerbee, Valdosta, Ga., of counsel.
Before MARIS,* THORNBERRY and AINSWORTH, Circuit Judges.
Rehearing En Banc Denied April 8, 1968.
Appellant, Fred Baker, was injured in an automobile collision on August 26, 1964, and his wife was killed instantly. In a diversity suit tried in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, appellant sought recovery for (a) the wrongful death of his wife, (b) expenses incurred as a result of his wife's death, and (c) his own personal injuries. The jury returned interrogatories and a verdict in his favor, and judgment was entered thereon. On this appeal, he does not contest that part of the judgment awarding $8,000 for expenses incurred as a result of his wife's death as well as his own injuries, but he does urge that the amount awarded for the full value of Mrs. Baker's life was inadequate.
At the outset, we observe that there is a dispute as to what amount was awarded for the full value of Mrs. Baker's life. The dispute arises because the interrogatories and answers are somewhat ambiguous; but, at any rate, the trial judge interpreted the jury's answers as giving $10,000 for the "injuries to and death of Claudia Baker." Appellant argues that the trial judge thereby awarded only $5,000 for the full value of her life, the other $5,000 being for injuries, and that in light of her earning capacity and life expectancy, this amount was plainly inadequate. Appellee, on the other hand, says that the court must have intended to award $10,000 for the full value of her life since this was the only element of damages in the case aside from the two elements covered by the award of $8,000. While we are inclined to agree with appellee, we need not reach this point. Whether the judgment awarded $10,000 or $5,000 for the full value of the decedent's life, appellant is in no position to complain of its inadequacy.
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