58 A.2d 202 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1948
Argued March 19, 1948.
This case is ruled by our decision in Standard Oil Company ofNew Jersey v. Graham Oil Transport Corporation,
At the trial of the present case, which is an action in trespass for damages for personal injuries, the jury returned a verdict for plaintiff. Defendant filed a motion for judgment n.o.v. and a motion for a new trial. The court below refused the motion for judgment n.o.v., but awarded a new trial not for the reasons given by defendant in his motion, but in the interest of justice and in the exercise of a general discretion.
This appeal by defendant is from the refusal of the court to grant his motion for judgment n.o.v.
The court below properly refused to rearrange the trial sequence, and then enter judgment n.o.v. for defendant under the authority of Kunkel v. Vogt,
The procedural confusion, in which counsel for defendant shares, would be an ample reason for the court's order granting a new trial. But the granting of a new trial in the interest of justice is entirely a matter of discretion with the court, and such an order will not be reviewed unless a clear abuse of discretion appears. Simpson v. Montgomery Ward Co.,
An applicable case is Tupponce v. Pennsylvania Railroad Co.,
There was no abuse of discretion or error committed by the court below.
Order granting a new trial is affirmed.