Eaton v. Horton
| Decision Date | 15 June 1990 |
| Citation | 565 So.2d 183 |
| Parties | Frank H. EATON, et al. v. Charles R. HORTON, et al. 88-699. |
| Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
George R. Stuart III, Birmingham, for appellant.
Gary C. Huckaby, G. Rick Hall and Warne S. Heath of Bradley, Arant, Rose & White, Huntsville, for appellee.
This appeal arises out of the trial court's denial of the defendants' motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, a new trial. The defendants claim that the motion should have been granted because the jury foreman failed to respond to a question on voir dire. We affirm.
On February 19, 1986, Charles R. Horton and several other individuals who were limited partners in The Atrium Hotel of Huntsville, Ltd. (hereinafter all referred to as "Horton"), filed suit, alleging, among other things, fraud, breach of contract, negligence, and wantonness, against the general partners, Frank Eaton and certain corporations with which he was affiliated (hereinafter he and the corporations are referred to as "Eaton"). The case was set for trial before a jury, and on August 29, 1988, the venire was questioned on voir dire. One of Eaton's attorneys asked the venire whether anyone had been a plaintiff in a case or was employed by anyone who had been a plaintiff in a case. John Wallace Goodwin, who later served as foreman of the jury, did not respond. On September 16, 1988, the jury returned a verdict against Eaton and assessed damages.
In support of the JNOV/new trial motion, Eaton cited several allegations of error, including juror Goodwin's failure to identify himself as a plaintiff in a pending action when Eaton's counsel propounded the question on voir dire. Eaton submitted several items in support of the motion: (1) a copy of a complaint filed by Goodwin and his wife against Sperry Rand Corporation and others, alleging fraud, breach of contract, conversion, and civil conspiracy; (2) the affidavits of four defense attorneys in this present case who stated that Goodwin did not respond when the venire was asked whether anyone had been a plaintiff in a lawsuit or had been employed by anyone who had been a plaintiff in a lawsuit (two of the attorneys stated that had Goodwin identified himself as a plaintiff in a case set for trial on September 19, 1988, he almost certainly would have been stricken, and, at a minimum, he would have been questioned about the nature of the action in which he was involved); (3) an order of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama entered August 30, 1988, entering a partial summary judgment for the defendant in Goodwin Equipment Co. v. Unisys Corp.; 1 and (4) an order entered on September 15, 1988, in the Unisys case dismissing the action with prejudice pursuant to the parties' agreement. In the motion for new trial, Eaton stated, upon information and belief, that Goodwin had settled a claim against Unisys for $25,000 while he was a juror in the present case. Eaton argued that Goodwin had intentionally withheld vital information and that he was, therefore, entitled to a JNOV or a new trial.
Horton filed a response to the motion for JNOV or new trial. In the response, Horton stated that Eaton had not even attempted to show actual prejudice by Goodwin's failure to respond to the voir dire question, and had instead only hypothesized that had Goodwin responded, he would have been questioned further or he would have been stricken from the venire. Horton also noted that during the course of the trial, juror Goodwin called to the court's attention his pending litigation, that the court informed the attorneys that one of the jurors was involved in a case and, later, that the case had been settled. He also stated that Eaton's attorneys made no attempt to question the juror or to pursue the matter in any way after they received the information. Eaton also submitted the affidavit of Juror Goodwin. Goodwin stated that he specifically recalled being asked on voir dire whether he had been sued, but that he did not understand that the members of the venire were also asked whether they had been plaintiffs.
The only issue now before us is whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying Eaton's motion for a new trial based on Goodwin's failure to answer on voir dire that he was a plaintiff in a pending lawsuit.
Initially, we note that the record contains no evidence indicating that Juror Goodwin was involved in any way with the federal case of Goodwin Equipment Co. v. Unisys...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Boyle v. State
...might have been prejudiced, i.e., whether there was probable prejudice, is a matter within the trial court's discretion. Eaton v. Horton, 565 So.2d 183 (Ala.1990) ; Land & Assocs., Inc. v. Simmons, 562 So.2d 140 (Ala.1989) (Houston, J., concurring specially).”Ex parte Dobyne, 805 So.2d 763,......
-
Harris v. State
...been prejudiced, i.e., whether there was probable prejudice, is a matter within the trial court's discretion. EatonPage 31 v. Horton, 565 So. 2d 183 (Ala. 1990); Land & Assocs., Inc. v. Simmons, 562 So. 2d 140 (Ala. 1989) (Houston, J., concurring specially)." 'The determination of whether t......
-
Brownfield v. State
...might have been prejudiced, i.e., whether there was probable prejudice, is a matter within the trial court's discretion. Eaton v. Horton, 565 So.2d 183 (Ala. 1990) ; Land & Assocs., Inc. v. Simmons, 562 So.2d 140 (Ala. 1989) (Houston, J., concurring specially)." ‘The determination of whethe......
-
Boyle v. Dunn
... ... her foot with a cigarette when he was holding her and she ... turned ... Cathy Horton, a nurse at Riverview emergency room, testified ... that Savannah was not responsive when she was admitted, that ... she had marks on her ... have been prejudiced, i.e., whether there was probable ... prejudice, is a matter within the trial court's ... discretion. Eaton v. Horton , 565 So.2d 183 (Ala ... 1990); Land & Assocs., Inc. v. Simmons , 562 ... So.2d 140 (Ala. 1989) (Houston, J., concurring ... ...