Cotney v. Vines
| Decision Date | 25 October 2002 |
| Parties | Tonya Reynolds COTNEY and Caleb M. Reynolds v. Erica Nicole VINES. Erica Nicole Vines v. Tonya Reynolds Cotney and Caleb M. Reynolds. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Civil Appeals |
Jeffrey G. Tickal and James T. Gullage of Gullage & Tickal, L.L.P., Opelika, for appellants/cross-appellees Tonya Reynolds Cotney and Caleb M. Reynolds.
Stanley A. Martin, Opelika, for appellee/cross-appellant Erica Nicole Vines.
Tonya Reynolds Cotney and Caleb M. Reynolds1 (hereinafter jointly referred to as "the plaintiffs") appeal from the trial court's denial of their motion for a new trial and from the trial court's grant of a motion in limine filed by Erica Nicole Vines. Vines cross-appeals from the trial court's denial of her motion for costs. We reverse and remand as to the plaintiffs' appeal.
On May 19, 1999, the plaintiffs sued Vines, seeking damages for injuries they allegedly sustained as a result of an automobile accident. The plaintiffs sought compensatory damages for past and future medical expenses, past and future lost wages and income for Cotney, past and future pain and suffering, mental anguish and emotional distress, and damage to Cotney's automobile, caused by Vines's alleged negligence; the plaintiffs also sought punitive damages for Vines's alleged wanton conduct in causing the accident. A jury trial on the plaintiffs' claims began on September 17, 2001. On September 18, 2001, at the close of the plaintiffs' case, Vines filed a motion for a directed verdict. The trial court granted Vines's motion as to the plaintiffs' wantonness claim, but denied it as to their negligence claim. On that same day, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs in the amount of $2,838.80. On September 20, 2001, the trial court entered a judgment on the jury's verdict.
On October 17, 2001, the plaintiffs filed a motion for a new trial or, in the alternative, a motion for additur, arguing (1) that the damages the jury had awarded were inadequate and (2) that Vines had violated the trial court's grant of a motion in limine filed by the plaintiffs when Vines introduced evidence of a separate lawsuit in which Cotney was involved. On October 19, 2001, Vines filed a motion for costs pursuant to Rule 68, Ala. R. Civ. P. Attached to that motion was a May 4, 2000, offer of judgment to the plaintiffs in the amount of $11,000, the trial court's September 20, 2001, judgment on the jury's verdict, an affidavit by the defendant's counsel, and a listing of the costs incurred by Vines. On October 31, 2001, Vines filed a response to the plaintiffs' postjudgment motion.
The trial court conducted a hearing on the plaintiffs' postjudgment motion and Vines's motion for costs on December 18, 2001; it denied both motions that same day. The plaintiffs and Vines filed timely notices of appeal to this court on January 24, 2002, and February 6, 2002, respectively. On appeal, the plaintiffs argue (1) that the trial court erred by denying their motion for a new trial because the jury had awarded inadequate damages and (2) that the trial court erred in granting a motion in limine filed by Vines that precluded Cotney from testifying as to the value of her vehicle both before and after the accident. In her cross-appeal, Vines argues that the trial court erred by denying her motion for costs.
We first address the plaintiffs' argument that the trial court erred in granting a motion in limine filed by Vines that precluded Cotney from testifying as to her automobile's reasonable market value before and after the accident. Vines's motion in limine sought, in part, that Cotney not be permitted to testify concerning her automobile's value because she had been unable to state its value during her deposition testimony. Vines asserts that the trial court never ruled upon her motion in limine; however, our review of...
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