Slade v. Whitco Corp.

• Decision Date: 26 January 1993
• Docket Number: No. 87-CV-587.,87-CV-587.
• Citation: 811 F. Supp. 71
• Parties: Hope SLADE, Next Friend of Olivia Zink, a Minor, and Hope Slade, as an Individual, Plaintiffs, v. WHITCO CORP., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of New York

811 F. Supp. 71

Hope SLADE, Next Friend of Olivia Zink, a Minor, and Hope Slade, as an Individual, Plaintiffs, v. WHITCO CORP., Defendant.

No. 87-CV-587.

United States District Court, N.D. New York.

January 26, 1993.

O'Connell and Aronowitz, Albany, NY (Stephen R. Coffey, Thomas J. DiNovo, of counsel), for plaintiff.

Donohue, Sabo, Varley & Armstrong, Albany, NY (Alvin O. Sabo, Fred J. Hutchison, of counsel), for defendant.

AMENDED MEMORANDUM-DECISION and ORDER

HURD, United States Magistrate Judge.

I. Introduction.

On January 28, 1983, the plaintiff, Olivia Slade, sustained catastrophic injuries in an automobile accident which occurred in the Town of Sandgate, Vermont. On that date, she was three years old, and was a passenger in a 1976 Jeep CJ-7 being operated by her mother, Hope Slade. The vehicle went off the side of the road, over a culvert, and came to rest in a ditch. Plaintiff was thrown out of the vehicle and was pinned under the left rear tire, face down in slush which had accumulated in the ditch. She remained in that position for several minutes. As a result, she sustained severe permanent brain damage and became a quadriplegic. She was twelve years old at the time of trial, and is now thirteen years old. She will require constant care for the rest of her life.

Prior to trial, the plaintiff received total settlements in the sum of $2,249,059.38 from the owner and the manufacturer of the Jeep. The case was discontinued or dismissed against other defendants. Hope Slade discontinued her individual claims. As a result, upon submission to the jury, the sole plaintiff was Olivia Slade, and the sole remaining defendant was Whitco Corp. ("Whitco"), the designer and manufacturer of the soft top/door system on the Jeep.

The case was tried in Albany between November 16, 1992, and December 3, 1992. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. Whitco was found liable on all causes of action in negligence, strict liability, and breach of warranty. The jury awarded total damages of $20,500,000.00 which consisted of $3,000,000.00 for past pain and suffering; $3,000,000.00 for future pain and suffering; and $14,500,000.00 as the present value of future economic loss. After making a reduction for the prior settlements, judgment was entered in favor of the plaintiff and against Whitco in the sum of $18,250,940.62.

II. Motions.

Whitco has moved for an order pursuant to Rule 50(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, setting aside the verdict in favor of the plaintiff and the judgment entered thereon, and directing that judgment be entered in favor of Whitco on the ground that the jury's verdict was against the weight of the evidence. In the alternative, Whitco has also moved for an order pursuant to Rule 59 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, setting aside the verdict and the judgment entered thereon, and granting Whitco a new trial on the grounds that the jury's verdict was against the weight of the evidence, and that the damages awarded by the jury were excessive.

The court issued a memorandum-decision and order dated January 8, 1993, 810 F.Supp. 396, granting in part and denying in part defendant's motion for a judgment n.o.v., or in the alternative, a motion for a new trial. This amended order is intended to allow the plaintiff an opportunity to accept a remittitur in lieu of a new trial on the issue of future economic loss.

III. Discussion.

A. Rule 50.

Rule 50 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides in pertinent part:

(a) Judgment as a Matter of Law.

(1) If during a trial by jury a party has been fully heard with respect to an issue and there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to have found for that party with respect to that issue, the court may grant a motion for judgment as a matter of law against that party on any claim, counterclaim, crossclaim, or third party claim that cannot under the controlling law be maintained without a favorable finding on that issue.

(2) Motions for judgment as a matter of law may be made at any time before submission of the case to the jury. Such a motion shall specify the judgment sought and the law and the facts on which the moving party is entitled to the judgment.

(b) Renewal of Motion for Judgment After Trial; Alternative Motion for New Trial. Whenever a motion for a judgment as a matter of law made at the close of all the evidence is denied or for any reason is not granted, the court is deemed to have submitted the action to the jury subject to a later determination of the legal questions raised by the motion. Such a motion may be renewed by service and filing not later than 10 days after entry of judgment. A motion for a new trial under Rule 59 may be joined with a renewal of the motion for judgment as a matter of law, or a new trial may be requested in the alternative. If a verdict was returned, the court may, in disposing of the renewed motion, allow the judgment to stand or may reopen the judgment and either order a new trial or direct the entry of judgment as a matter of law.

"The standard for granting a motion for judgment n.o.v. pursuant to 50(b) is whether `the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmovants without considering credibility or weight, reasonably permits only a conclusion in the movants favor.'" Jund v. Town of Hempstead, 941 F.2d 1271, 1290 (2d Cir.1991) (citations omitted); see also Oakley v. Consolidated Rail Corp., 1992 WL 198087, * 3-4, 1992 U.S.Dist. LEXIS 12142, * 9-10 (N.D.N.Y. 1992); Jones v. Lederle Laboratories, Div. of American Cyanamid Co, 785 F.Supp. 1123, 1125 (E.D.N.Y.1992), aff'd 982 F.2d 63 (2d Cir.1992). A "judgment n.o.v. is reserved for those rare occasions when there is `such complete absence of evidence supporting the verdict that the jury's findings could only have been the result of sheer surmise and conjecture' or the evidence must be so overwhelming that reasonable and fair minded persons could only have reached the opposite result." Sorlucco v. New York City Police Department, 971 F.2d 864, 871 (2d Cir.1992) (citations omitted).

Procedurally, in order to bring a Fed. R.Civ.P. 50(b) motion post trial, "the moving party must have sought judgment as a matter of law in accordance with subsection (a)(2) before the case was submitted to the jury," and must thereafter renew the same under 50(b) by filing a motion "within ten days after entry of the judgment on the jury's verdict." Oakley, supra, 1992 WL 198087, at * 4, 1992 U.S.Dist. LEXIS 12142, at * 10 (emphasis added); see also Dixon v. Aragona, 1992 WL 107360, 1992 U.S.Dist. LEXIS 6735 (N.D.N.Y.1992).

Whitco moved for a directed verdict at the close of the plaintiff's case and at the conclusion of all the evidence. This motion, pursuant to Section 50(b), was preserved for review, and having been made within ten days of entry of judgment will be addressed on its merits.

The central liability issue at trial was whether Whitco, as designer and manufacturer of the soft top/door system for the manufacturer of the Jeep, negligently designed the system so as to cause the plaintiff to be ejected from the vehicle at the time of the accident, thereby sustaining her personal injuries. The other issue was whether or not Whitco retained sufficient independent control over the design of the soft/top door system to expose it to liability. Both issues were resolved against Whitco. There was conflicting evidence which included the testimony of experts on both sides. The resolution of conflicting evidence and the credibility of the witnesses was a question for the jury. Vasbinder v. Ambach, 926 F.2d 1333, 1339 (2d Cir. 1991). To set aside a jury verdict as against the weight of the evidence, Whitco must establish that the verdict could not be supported by any fair interpretation of the evidence. Sir Speedy, Inc. v. L & P Graphics, Inc., 957 F.2d 1033, 1038-39 (2d Cir.1992). Whitco has failed to meet that burden. The court finds that the liability verdicts were not the result of passion or prejudice, and did not constitute a miscarriage of justice. Earl v. Bouchard Transp. Co., 917 F.2d 1320, 1327 (2d Cir. 1990). Rather, the court finds that the jury's determination on liability was justifiable in light of the evidence presented at trial. The motion is denied inasmuch as it seeks relief under Rule 50(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

B. Rule 59.

Rule 50(b) allows a motion for a new trial pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 59 to be joined with it or to be sought in the alternative. Rule 59 provides in pertinent part:

(a) Grounds. A new trial may be granted to all or any of the parties and on all or part of the issues (1) in an action in which there has been a trial by jury, for any of the reasons for which new trials have heretofore been granted in actions at law in the courts of the United States: ...

(b) Time for Motion. A motion for a new trial shall be served not later than 10 days after the entry of the judgment.

"A less stringent standard applies to a motion for a new trial," Katara v. D.E. Jones Commodities, Inc., 835 F.2d 966, 970 (2d Cir.1987), than to a motion for judgment as a matter of law. "The district court's grant of a new trial motion is usually warranted only if it `is convinced that the jury has reached a seriously erroneous result or that the verdict is a miscarriage of justice.'" Sorlucco, 971 F.2d at 875 (quoting Smith v. Lightning Bolt Productions, Inc., 861 F.2d 363, 370 (2d Cir.1988)); see Oakley, supra.

Like a motion under Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(b), a motion under Fed.R.Civ.P. 59 must be made "not later than 10 days after the entry of the judgment." Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(b). The defendant has timely filed and preserved its Rule 59 motion for review on the merits.

For the same reasons set forth above, the jury's verdict on liability was supported by a fair interpretation of the evidence. As such, the motion is denied as much as it seeks relief on the...