Knight v. Brooks, 2002-CA-02093-COA.
| Decision Date | 16 March 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. 2002-CA-02093-COA.,2002-CA-02093-COA. |
| Citation | 881 So.2d 294 |
| Parties | Benny R. KNIGHT, Appellant v. Corey BROOKS, Appellee. |
| Court | Mississippi Court of Appeals |
Billy Parlin, Ocean Springs, attorney for appellant.
H. Benjamin Mullen, Pascagoula, attorney for appellee.
EN BANC.
MYERS, J., for the Court.
¶ 1. Benny R. Knight filed suit against Corey Brooks in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Mississippi, seeking damages for personal injuries sustained in an automobile accident that occurred on May 3, 1994. After Knight presented his case and Brooks presented no evidence, the trial court entered judgment on the jury verdict that found for Knight but awarded zero dollars in damages. Knight moved for a new trial on the issue of damages which the trial court denied. From the denial of that motion, Knight appeals and raises the following two issues.
I. Did the trial court abuse its discretion by denying Knight's motion for a new trial on damages?
II. Was the verdict supported by the evidence or was it a result of bias, passion or prejudice on the part of the jury?
¶ 2. The evidence reflects that on May 3, 1994, Knight and Brooks were involved in a collision of their motor vehicles. Knight was driving east on U.S. Highway 90 in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Knight stopped at an intersection when the traffic light turned red. After having been stopped for a short time, Knight looked in his rear-view mirror and noticed that a truck was coming toward him at a high rate of speed. Believing the approaching truck was not going to stop, Knight grabbed his steering wheel tightly and was struck from behind by a truck driven by Brooks. The collision totaled Knight's vehicle and Knight was forced to exit his vehicle through the sunroof. Knight called someone from his place of business to come and pick him up from the scene of the accident.
¶ 3. Knight went to visit his family physician, Dr. Kevin Cooper, on May 4, 1994, the day following the accident. However, the record indicates that Knight went to see Dr. Cooper for a complete physical, not for pains associated with the automobile accident. Knight admitted on cross-examination that he did not complain to Dr. Cooper about having pain or discomfort at that time and that he went to see Dr. Cooper about his heart problems. Dr. Cooper's medical records indicate no mentioning by Knight to Dr. Cooper about the accident. Dr. Cooper's report described Knight's exam an "essentially unremarkable."
¶ 4. The record reflects that Knight waited six months after the accident before he went to see Dr. Christopher Wiggins, an orthopedic surgeon, in November 1994. Knight explained that the reason he waited six months to see Dr. Wiggins was because he had heart surgery in June of 1994. Given by deposition, Dr. Wiggins' testimony indicated that Knight complained at that time of pains in his left elbow. Knight mentioned the May 1994 accident to Dr. Wiggins. Dr. Wiggins testified that Knight suffered from an avulsed distal tendon and that given Knight's medical condition with heart problems, surgery was probably not an option of treatment. Dr. Wiggins testified that Knight sustained "fifteen percent permanent partial disability to the left upper extremity because of pain and loss of strength." According to Knight's direct examination, Dr. Wiggins prescribed medicine to treat his arm pain.
¶ 5. In July of 1995, Knight went to see Dr. Harry Danielson, a neurosurgeon, due to recurring headaches, back and neck pain. Knight had been a patient of Dr. Danielson in 1992 following another auto accident. In 1993, Dr. Danielson performed surgery on Knight to alleviate pain and disk injury resulting from the previous accident. Following a neurological exam performed by Dr. Danielson, an MRI X-ray and a myelogram, Dr. Danielson concluded that Knight suffered from a "herniated disk at the C5-6 level." After waiting several months to see if Knight's condition improved, Dr. Danielson suggested surgery in March of 1996. An anterior cervical disckectomy was performed by Dr. Danielson on April 5, 1996.
¶ 6. Dr. Danielson testified that his medical opinion was that Knight's accident on May 3, 1994, with Corey Brooks worsened the pre-existing back condition Knight suffered as a result of the 1992 accident. Dr. Danielson also testified that Knight had a "nine percent general physical impairment rating of the person as a whole for an anterior cervical disk fusion" but was not so disabled that he would need to resign from his job as CEO of his company.
¶ 7. Knight testified that he had post-accident medical bills totaling $23,000. Dr. Danielson stated that his charges for Knight's surgery and consultation were $7,650. Knight also testified that, because of chronic pain resulting from the auto accident, he could not participate in certain activities that he once enjoyed. Knight stated that due to pain he no longer could stand or ride in a car for long periods of time. However, Knight stated that he was still able to fish, go boat riding and work as owner of his own business.
¶ 8. After Knight presented his case, Brooks chose to rest and not to put on any evidence. The trial court instructed the jury to find for Knight. The jury returned a verdict for Knight but assessed his damages at zero dollars. The judgment on the jury verdict states, "We the jury find for the plaintiff, and assess his damages at $0.00." Knight moved for a new trial on the issue of damages. Knight argued that the jury verdict was inadequate, not supported by the evidence and a result of bias, prejudice or passion on the part of the jury. The trial judge denied Knight's motion for a new trial and Knight appeals this ruling.
¶ 9. Knight raises two issues on appeal which are intertwined. We will consider the two issues together in order to better resolve the issues before the Court. Knight contends that the trial court erred when it denied his motion for a new trial. Motions for new trial challenge the weight of the evidence. Mitchell v. Glimm, 819 So.2d 548, 551(¶ 6) (Miss.Ct.App.2002). The decision to grant or to deny a motion for new trial is within the trial judge's discretion. Trustmark Nat'l Bank v. Jeff Anderson Med. Ctr., 792 So.2d 267, 274 (¶ 17) (Miss.Ct.App.2000). The appellate court, when reviewing the trial judge's decision to deny a motion for new trial, views all evidence in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Id. This Court will reverse the trial judge's denial of a request for a new trial only when the denial amounts to an abuse of discretion. Whitten v. Cox, 799 So.2d 1, 13 (¶ 26) (Miss.2000).
¶ 10. Knight asserts two points of error with regard to the jury verdict of zero dollars. First, that the amount is inadequate and second, that the verdict is unsupported by the evidence and evinces bias, prejudice or passion on the part of the jury. Based on these assertions, Knight argues that the trial court should have granted him a new trial on damages. Proper bases for granting a motion for new trial are "when the verdict is against the overwhelming weight of the evidence, or when the jury has been confused by faulty jury instructions, or when the jury has departed from its oath and its verdict is a result from bias, passion, and prejudice." Gatewood v. Sampson, 812 So.2d 212, 222 (¶ 22) (Miss.2002) (citing Hamilton v. Hammons, 792 So.2d 956, 965 (Miss.2001)). Commonly, the sole proof of bias, prejudice or passion on the part of the jury is "an inference, if any, to be drawn from contrasting the amount of the verdict with the amount of the damages." Gatewood, 812 So.2d at 222 (citing Green v. Grant, 641 So.2d 1203, 1209 (Miss.1994)).
¶ 11. The trial judge gave the following peremptory instructions to the jury:
The Court instructs the jury to return a verdict for the Plaintiff, Benny R. Knight.
Your verdict should be written on a separate sheet of paper, need not be signed by anyone, and should be in the following form: "We the Jury, find for the Plaintiff and assess his damages at $."
Essentially, the trial court was directing a verdict for Knight while leaving the issue of damages for the jury's determination. When this Court reviews the action of the jury after the trial court has refused to grant a new trial on the question of damages, the question then becomes whether the verdict was either so excessive or inadequate as to shock the conscience and to indicate bias, passion and prejudice on the part of the jury, or, whether the jury failed to respond to reason. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Johnson, 807 So.2d 382, 392 (¶ 27) (Miss.2001).
¶ 12. In the case sub judice, there was actually no award of damages since the jury assessed them at zero dollars. This cannot be viewed as an inadequate award of damages, but instead as no award at all. Knight presented several expert witnesses at trial by way of their depositions, each stating that Knight suffered some injury from the accident. Knight testified that his medical bills total $23,000. Dr. Danielson testified that his bill for services rendered to Knight was $7,560. Dr. Danielson stated that Knight suffered from an aggravation of a pre-existing back condition due to the accident which resulted in surgery. Knight stated that he still continued to experience pain and discomfort at the time of trial, several years after the accident. Upon viewing the evidence presented at trial in the light most favorable to Brooks, it is clear that Knight suffered some injury from this accident. The jury verdict is, therefore, against the overwhelming weight of the evidence and is reversed. We remand this case to the trial court for a new trial solely on the issue of damages.
¶ 13. THE JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF...
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