252 Conn. 174 | Conn. | 2000
Opinion
This case presents the issue of whether the trial court necessarily must set aside the verdict when, pursuant to General Statutes § 52-572h,
The record discloses the following relevant facts. On August 15, 1994, an automobile driven by the named defendant, Willie Hatch (defendant), struck the automobile driven by the named plaintiff, Thomas J. Wichers (plaintiff), causing damage to both vehicles.
At trial, the parties hotly contested the extent of the plaintiffs injuries. The plaintiff claimed that, as a result of the accident, he had suffered an acute cervical strain,
Prior to the 1994 accident, the plaintiff had a neck impairment and, in fact, had been receiving treatment by Lentini as part of a monthly maintenance program since 1987. Prior to that, the plaintiff had received treatment from two other chiropractors. Additionally, since at least 1991, the plaintiff had been suffering from an arthritic condition in his neck, which had resulted in a reduced range of motion. He also suffered from a degenerative condition, known as spondylosis, which had exhibited its symptoms as early as 1993. Lentini testified that the plaintiffs restricted range of motion could have been caused by arthritis, spondylosis, normal wear and tear or aging.
The plaintiff had been involved in two other motor vehicle accidents, one in 1991 and another in 1993, both of which resulted in a neck injury. The 1993 accident required the plaintiff to undergo eight months of treatment with Lentini. Unfortunately, despite that treatment, the plaintiff failed to regain his pre-1993 range of motion.
At trial, the plaintiff argued that, although he had a preexisting condition, the defendant’s negligence exacerbated that condition. He claimed pain and suffering and sought compensation. With regard to economic damages, the plaintiff asked the jury to award him $3377 in damages, representing the total cost of medical
The defendant argued that the plaintiffs condition resulted, not from the 1994 accident with the defendant, but rather, from the plaintiffs arthritis and spondylosis, both degenerative conditions. Therefore, according to the defendant, because the plaintiffs condition would have continued to deteriorate regardless of the accident, he had failed to demonstrate a causal connection between the accident and the injuries allegedly suffered.
The trial court instructed the jury that it first had to determine whether there was a causal relationship between the accident and the injuries claimed by the plaintiff and, if so, what amount to award as fair, just and reasonable damages. Specifically, the trial court instructed the jury: “If you find that the plaintiff complains about an injury which would have occurred even in the absence of the defendant’s conduct, then you must find that the defendant did not proximately cause that injury.” The trial court further instructed the jury that, if it chose to award damages, it could “give the plaintiff only such damages as were proven to be the proximate consequence of the defendant’s action which resulted in [the plaintiffs] claimed injuries.” Regarding noneconomic damages, the trial court instructed the jury that the plaintiff “[was] not entitled to compensa
The jury returned a verdict of $3377 in economic damages and zero noneconomic damages. Thereafter, pursuant to General Statutes § 52-228b,
Thereafter, the defendant sought and obtained an articulation of the trial court’s decision. In its articula
The defendant did not accept the additur and appealed to the Appellate Court. Thereafter, pursuant to Practice Book § 65-2, he filed a motion to transfer the appeal to this court, which we granted.
We agree with the defendant that the departure in Childs from what was perceived to be the Johnson per se rule, has left trial judges in some confusion, and that to attempt to harmonize the decisions would require this court to establish an arbitrary demarcation of what percentage of a full economic damage recovery mandates an award of noneconomic damages. Any such attempt to engage in arbitrary line making is both unnecessary and unwise. We conclude that Johnson should be overruled explicitly, and that a case-specific standard should apply to the instance in which a party seeks to have a verdict set aside on the basis that it is legally inadequate.
Before we turn to the merits of the claim, we first address the proper standard for this court’s review. Generally, we review a decision of the trial court setting aside the verdict and ordering an additur to determine whether the trial court properly exercised its discretion. Childs v. Bainer, supra, 235 Conn. 113; Malmberg v. Lopez, 208 Conn. 675, 679, 546 A.2d 264 (1988). When, however, the trial court concludes, as a matter of law, that it is compelled to act in a particular fashion, plenary
In order to answer that question, we begin with a discussion of Johnson v. Franklin, supra, 112 Conn. 228. In Johnson, three plaintiffs, who were injured as a result of an automobile collision, commenced an action that resulted in a jury award for the exact amount of the economic damages alleged. No general or noneconomic damages were awarded, and the trial court, treating the award as so nominal as to be tantamount to a defendant’s verdict, denied the motion to set aside the verdict, concluding that the jury “ ‘may very reasonably have found’ ” that the plaintiffs did not deserve a greater recovery. Id., 229. In reversing the judgment, this court concluded that the damages were not nominal; id., 230; and that the trial court should have set aside the verdicts as a matter of law because, “if the plaintiffs were entitled to verdicts those rendered were manifestly inadequate . . . .” Id., 232. The court held that an award limited to nominal or special damages necessarily and logically required an award of noneconomic damages, and that, therefore, an award limited to economic damages is inadequate as a matter of law and should be set aside. Id., 229; see also Malmberg v. Lopez, supra, 208 Conn. 681.
In 1995, this court had occasion to reexamine the per se rule of Johnson in Childs v. Bainer, supra, 235 Conn. 107, wherein the jury had awarded the plaintiff $3649
In Childs, however, we did not expressly overrule that portion of Johnson that had held that an award limited to nominal or special damages is inadequate as a matter of law. Rather, this court distinguished Childs from Johnson on two grounds. First;, the plaintiff in Childs was awarded only 19 percent of the total amount of economic damages claimed; Childs v. Bainer, supra, 235 Conn. 118; whereas in Johnson, the plaintiffs had been awarded the exact amount of the economic damages claimed. Johnson v. Franklin, supra, 112 Conn. 232. Second, the evidence of physical injuries as well as damages in Childs was “neither substantial nor uncontested,” whereas in Johnson, both the physical injuries and economic damages had been both substan
“[The case of the plaintiff in Childs] is distinguishable from Johnson. First, in this case the jury did not award the entire amount of claimed economic damages, but only 19 percent of that amount. Second, the evidence of physical injury offered by the plaintiff was neither substantial nor uncontested. Thus, the damages awarded by the jury were not manifestly inadequate, and the plaintiff was not entitled, under the rationale of Johnson, to an additur or, in the alternative, to a new trial in accordance with § 52-228b.” Childs v. Bainer, supra, 235 Conn. 117-18.
In the present case, the defendant points out that in the aftermath of Childs, because it did not expressly overrule Johnson, our trial courts have struggled with what is left of Johnson and what general rules to apply. Trial courts have differed in their answers to these questions. Some have taken the position that, after Childs, an award of economic damages without noneco-nomic damages is no longer inadequate as a matter of law. Other trial courts have treated Childs as an exception to Johnson, and have distinguished the cases before them from Childs. Compare Diakomis v. Dias,
The defendant argues that Childs and not Johnson controls the present case because the plaintiff was not awarded the exact amount of his claimed economic damages. The plaintiff counters that this case fits squarely within the confines of Johnson because the jury did award him the exact amount of medical expenses he incurred as a result of the defendant’s negligence. We are, nevertheless, persuaded that any attempt to reconcile the two cases or to pigeonhole this case would require the court to establish an arbitrary demarcation of what percentage of a full economic damage recovery will mandate an award of noneco-nomic damages. Such arbitrary line drawing is both unnecessary and, indeed, unwise. Despite the factual distinctions between the two cases, and despite our earlier perception that the two cases were not necessarily inconsistent with each other, upon further reflection
The Johnson rule developed out of concern that an award of economic damages with zero noneconomic damages is either ambiguous or inadequate. Upon further reflection, we recognize that those concerns are unwarranted. The assumption behind Johnson that a plaintiff who has proven that he was injured by a defendant’s negligence must, by necessity, have also proven that the negligence caused pain and suffering is not sound, for example, in cases in which the plaintiff had a preexisting condition. In such circumstances, the causal connection between the pain experienced by the plaintiff and the defendant’s conduct is not automatic. Therefore, the jury’s failure to award noneconomic damages could simply reflect its conclusion that the plaintiff had not proven that he had suffered any additional pain as a result of the defendant’s conduct. Hence, the other underpinning of Johnson, that every such verdict is ambiguous because it may reflect the jury’s uncertainty as to the defendant’s liability, is also fragile.
Additionally, because trial courts currently have the authority to remedy an award of inadequate damages, the Johnson rule is unnecessary. In Birgel v. Heintz, 163 Conn. 23, 27-28, 301 A.2d 249 (1972), we held that “[i]n passing upon a motion to set aside a verdict, the trial judge must do just what every juror ought to do in arriving at a verdict. The juror must use all his experi
Finally, the most notable limitation on the trial court’s authority to act pursuant to § 52-216a derives from a litigant’s constitutional right to have issues of fact determined by a jury. Mather v. Griffin Hospital, supra, 207 Conn. 138. “The right to a jury trial is fundamental in our judicial system, and this court has said that the right is one obviously immovable limitation on the legal discretion of the court to set aside a verdict, since the constitutional right of trial by jury includes the right to have issues of fact as to which there is room for a reasonable difference of opinion among fair-minded men passed upon by the jury and not by the court.” Camp v. Booth, 160 Conn. 10, 13, 273 A.2d 714 (1970). Because in setting aside the verdict, the trial court deprives the party in whose favor the verdict was rendered of his constitutional right to have factual issues resolved by the jury, our role generally is to examine the evidential basis of the verdict itself to determine whether the trial court abused its discretion. Palomba v. Gray, 208 Conn. 21, 25, 543 A.2d 1331 (1988). Because the Johnson per se rule undermines the principle that litigants have a constitutional right to have issues of fact, including damages, determined by a jury, the need to cling to the per se rule is even more attenuated.
Therefore, we conclude that the per se rule from Johnson no longer remains useful or viable, and we expressly disavow it. Rather than decide that an award of only economic damages is inadequate as a matter of law, the jury’s decision to award economic damages and zero noneconomic damages is best tested in light of the circumstances of the particular case before it. Accordingly, the trial court should examine the evidence to decide whether the jury reasonably could have found that the plaintiff had failed in his proof of the
As we previously have stated, although the trial court has a broad legal discretion in this area, it is not without its limits. “Because in setting aside a verdict the court has deprived a litigant in whose favor the verdict has been rendered of his constitutional right to have disputed issues of fact determined by a jury; Rickert v. Fraser, 152 Conn. 678, 681, 211 A.2d 702 (1965); the court’s action cannot be reviewed in a vacuum. The evidential underpinnings of the verdict itself must be examined. ‘Upon issues regarding which, on the evidence, there is room for reasonable difference of opinion among fair-minded men, the conclusion of a jury, if one at which honest men acting fairly and intelligently might arrive reasonably, must stand, even though the opinion of the trial court and this court be that a different result should have been reached.’ Horvath v. Tontini, 126 Conn. 462, 464, 11 A.2d 846 (1940).” Jacobs v. Goodspeed, 180 Conn. 415, 417, 429 A.2d 915 (1980). “[I]f there is a reasonable basis in the evidence for the jury’s verdict, unless there is a mistake in law or some other valid basis for upsetting the result other than a difference of opinion regarding the conclusions to be drawn from the evidence, the trial court should let the jury work their will.” Id., 419.
In this case, the jury could have accepted the evidence that it was advisable for the plaintiff to see his chiropractor more frequently than usual following the accident, but that the accident did not cause him actually to suffer greater pain than he already had experi
Therefore, the judgment of the trial court is reversed and the case is remanded to the trial court with direction to render judgment on the verdict.
In this opinion the other justices concurred.
General Statutes § 52-572h provides in relevant part: “Negligence actions. Doctrines applicable. Liability of multiple tortfeasors for damages, (a) For the purposes of this section: (1) ‘Economic damages’ means compensation determined by the trier of fact for pecuniary losses including, but not limited to, the cost of reasonable and necessary medical care, rehabilitative services, custodial care and loss of earnings or earning capacity excluding any noneconomic damages; (2) ‘noneconomic damages’ means compensation determined by the trier of fact for all nonpecuniary losses including, but not limited to, physical pain and suffering and mental and emotional suffering; (3) ‘recoverable economic damages’ means the economic damages reduced by any applicable findings including but not limited to set-offs, credits, comparative negligence, additur and remittitur, and any reduction provided by section 52-225a; (4) ‘recoverable noneconomic damages’ means the non-economic damages reduced by any applicable findings including but not limited to set-offs, credits, comparative negligence, additur and remittitur.
This action was originally brought by the plaintiff and his wife, Helen Wichers, against the defendant and his wife, Joanna Hatch, as co-owners of the motor vehicle driven by the defendant. References herein to the plaintiff and the defendant are to Thomas Wichers and Willie Hatch, respectively.
The plaintiffs claim for “[fjuture medical treatment” remained on the verdict form over the defendant’s objection on the ground that the evidence did not support such an award.
General Statutes § 52-2281) provides: “No verdict in any civil action involving a claim for money damages may be set aside except on written motion by a party to the action, stating the reasons relied upon in its support, filed and heard after notice to the adverse party according to the rules of the court. No such verdict maybe set aside solely on the ground that the damages are excessive unless the prevailing party has been given an opportunity to have the amount of the judgment decreased by so much thereof as the court deems excessive. No such verdict may be set aside solely on the ground that the damages are inadequate until the parties have first been given an opportunity to accept an addition to the verdict of such amount as the court deems reasonable.”
Practice Book § 65-2 provides: “Motion for Transfer from Appellate Court to Supreme Court
“After the filing of an appeal in the appellate court, but in no event after the cáse has been assigned for hearing, any party may move for transfer to the supreme court. The motion, addressed to the supreme court, shall specify, in accordance with provisions of Section 66-2, the reasons why the party believes that the supreme court should hear the appeal directly. A copy of the memorandum of decision of the trial court, if any, shall be attached to the motion. The filing of a motion for transfer shall not stay proceedings in the appellate court.
“If, at any time before the final determination of an appeal, the appellate court is of the opinion that the appeal is appropriate for supreme court review, the appellate court may file a brief statement of the reasons why transfer is appropriate. The supreme court shall treat the statement as a motion to transfer and shall promptly decide whether to transfer the case to itself.”
General Statutes § 52-216a provides in relevant part: “Reading oí agreements or releases to jury prohibited. Adjustments for excessive and inadequate verdicts permitted. ... If the court at the conclusion of the trial concludes that the verdict is excessive as a matter of law, it shall order a remittitur and, upon failure of the party so ordered to remit the amount ordered by the court, it shall set aside the verdict and order a new trial. If the court concludes that the verdict is inadequate as a matter of law, it shall order an additur, and upon failure of the party so ordered to add the amount ordered by the court, it shall set aside the verdict and order a new trial. . . .”
To the extent that Johnson presumed the former, it is inconsistent with our well established jurisprudence that evidence should be construed to support a jury’s verdict. See, e.g., Mather v. Griffin Hospital, supra, 207 Conn. 139.