McGowan v. Gillenwater, 14212.

• Decision Date: 29 July 1970
• Docket Number: No. 14212.,14212.
• Citation: McGowan v. Gillenwater, 429 F.2d 586 (4th Cir. 1970)
• Parties: Charles S. McGOWAN, as Administrator of the Estate of Mary Louise McGowan, deceased, Appellant, v. Thurston M. GILLENWATER and Terry L. Gillenwater, Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

429 F.2d 586 (1970)

Charles S. McGOWAN, as Administrator of the Estate of Mary Louise McGowan, deceased, Appellant, v.Thurston M. GILLENWATER and Terry L. Gillenwater, Appellees.

No. 14212.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Argued July 21, 1970.

Decided July 29, 1970.

Henry Hammer, Columbia, S. C.(Cromer & Louthian and Herbert M. Meeting, Columbia, S. C., on the brief), for appellant.

John W. Thomas, Columbia, S. C.(Wayne F. Rush and Roberts, Jennings & Thomas, Columbia, S. C., on the brief), for appellees.

Before HAYNSWORTH, Chief Judge, and WINTER and BUTZNER, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

The appellant seeks a new trial on the issue of damages in this personal injury case.With respect to the principal assignments of error, we affirm for the reasons stated in the district judge's opinion.

The appellant also contends that the district judge erred in striking the ad damnum clause of the complaint and in refusing to allow a per diem argument on the question of damages.We find the district judge did not abuse his discretion in barring from the jury the amount of damages alleged in the complaint.This was no part of the proof, and it had no role to play in the jury's consideration of the case.Williams v. Nichols, 266 F.2d 389(4th Cir.1959);Craven v. Associated Transport, Inc., 40 F.R.D. 8(D.S.C.1966).Indeed the better practice ordinarily is to withhold all pleadings from the jury.The function of the...