Blazar v. Perkins
| Decision Date | 03 August 1983 |
| Docket Number | No. 81-14-A,81-14-A |
| Citation | 463 A.2d 203 |
| Parties | Sylvia S. BLAZAR et al. v. Thomas H. PERKINS et al. ppeal. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
This is a civil action for negligence brought by the plaintiffs, Sylvia S. Blazar and Frederick Blazar, to recover damages for injuries allegedly sustained in an automobile accident. The case was tried before a trial justice of the Superior Court sitting with a jury solely on the issue of damages, and a verdict was returned for the plaintiffs in the amount of $11,000.
On October 5, 1972, in Dorchester, Massachusetts, on Route 3, the Southeast Expressway, a vehicle owned and operated by plaintiff Sylvia Blazar was hit in the rear by a vehicle owned by defendant Star City Glass Company and operated by defendant Thomas Perkins during the course of his employment and with the consent of his employer. As a result of the accident, plaintiff allegedly sustained injuries to various parts of her body.
The defendants initially denied liability and claimed a jury trial on all issues. The matter was assigned to the continuous jury- trial calendar. Just prior to impaneling the jury, however, defendants admitted liability, leaving the determination of damages as the only issue before the court. The plaintiffs then requested the trial justice to enter judgment against defendants and informed the trial justice that they waived the intervention of a jury on the issue of damages pursuant to G.L.1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 9-20-2. The plaintiffs moved that the issue of damages be tried before the trial justice without a jury.
The trial justice denied plaintiffs' request to enter judgment against defendants, stating that the request was premature because the issue of damages had yet to be determined. As to plaintiffs' waiver of a jury trial on the issue of damages, the trial justice denied the motion, concluding that § 9-20-2 was inapplicable and that defendant had a right to have a jury determine damages.
Subsequently, the issue of damages was tried before a jury, which awarded plaintiff Sylvia Blazar $10,000 for personal injuries, pain and suffering, etc., and plaintiff Frederick Blazar $1,000 for medical expenses. Judgment was then entered. The plaintiffs appeal.
The issues before this court on appeal are (1) whether the trial justice should have entered judgment after defendants admitted liability and (2) whether a plaintiff, when both parties have requested a jury trial, can unilaterally waive a trial by jury when defendant admits liability and the only remaining issue is damages.
The plaintiffs contend that the trial justice should have entered judgment against defendants immediately after defendants admitted liability as a first step in the procedure and subsequently, after a hearing, designated the amount of the judgment. The plaintiffs argue that this two-step procedure is appropriate in a case like this because the admission of liability by defendants concludes one part of the case and the entry of judgment would simply reflect that fact.
The defendants argue that entry of judgment after an admission of liability but before a determination of the amount of damages is improper because, by admitting liability, defendants are not submitting to judgment. They are merely simplifying the issues in order to avoid unnecessary proof and to shorten the trial. The issue of damages was still before the court at this point and therefore, defendants contend, entry of judgment would have been inappropriate and premature. We agree.
Rule 58(a) of the Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure provides that judgment may be entered "upon a general verdict of a jury, or upon a decision by the court that a party shall recover only a sum certain or costs or that all relief shall be denied * * * " or "upon a decision by the court granting other relief, or upon a special verdict or a general verdict accompanied by answers to interrogatories * * *." Therefore, if a writing is to be considered a judgment, it "must clearly evince that it is the final act in the proceeding and an adjudication of the issues involved." Malinou v. Kiernan, 105 R.I. 299, 301, 251 A.2d 530, 531-32 (1969).
Considering the facts of the instant case in light of these principles, we find that the trial justice did not err in refusing to enter judgment for plaintiffs on defendants' admission of liability prior to a determination on the issue of damages. The conditions under which judgment may be entered pursuant to Rule 58 did not exist at the time plaintiffs requested entry of judgment. There was no jury verdict of any type and no decision by the court regarding recovery of a sum certain, costs, or any damages at all. The issue of damages had not yet been addressed before the court. Therefore, entry of judgment at this point would not be the final act in the proceeding and such an entry could not be considered an adjudication of all the issues involved in the case. The plaintiffs' request was premature. Consequently, we find no error in the trial justice's refusal to enter judgment prior to a determination on the issue of damages.
The second issue raised by plaintiffs is whether the trial justice erred in refusing to allow plaintiffs to waive a jury trial on the issue of damages and assess damages without the intervention of a jury under the authority of § 9-20-2.
The plaintiffs assert that defendants' admission of liability is the equivalent of either a default or a judgment by submission and that therefore § 9-20-2 applies to the case and allows plaintiffs to waive the intervention of a jury on the determination of damages. The plaintiffs contend that after defendants admitted liability, they should be permitted to waive a jury trial and have the trial justice, sitting alone, make a determination on the issue of damages.
The defendants contend that § 9-20-2 is inapplicable because an admission of liability while still contesting damages is not a judgment by default or submission. Also, defendants point out, once defendants in their answer claim their right to a jury trial on all issues, a jury trial can only be waived with the consent of all parties. Therefore, defendants contend, the trial justice's refusal to allow plaintiffs to waive a jury trial and hear the issue of damages sitting without a jury was proper. We agree.
Section 9-20-2 states:
The general rules of statutory construction state that the court must give the words of the statute their...
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