84 A. 329 | Conn. | 1912
The jury rendered a verdict for the plaintiff, which the court, upon motion, set aside as against the evidence.
It is evident from the memorandum of the trial judge, that the principal, if not the sole, reason why he set aside the verdict for the plaintiff, was that from his "observation of the demeanor of the witness (the plaintiff) on the stand," he "judged that he was neither frank nor honest in his statements," and that the jury should not have believed him.
The trial court erred in setting aside the verdict upon this ground, unless the evidence shows that the jury could not fairly and reasonably have credited the plaintiff's testimony. The rule to be applied by the court when a verdict has been set aside, is stated inLewis v. Healy,
This record does not disclose that the jury might not *100 have fairly and reasonably believed the plaintiff's testimony, nor that the verdict was one which the jury might not reasonably have reached on the evidence before them.
There is error, the judgment is reversed, and the Superior Court is directed to render judgment on the verdict for the plaintiff.