DORRETT ANGELA ATKINS, APPELLANT,
v.
FRED ERNEST HANSEL, ET AL., APPELLEES
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The appellate court reversed the trial court's order granting a new trial, holding that credibility determinations and damage awards are jury questions and the trial court abused its discretion in setting aside a verdict without showing it was against the manifest weight of the evidence.
A trial court abuses its discretion by granting a new trial and setting aside a jury verdict on damages without providing reasons showing the verdict was against the manifest weight of the evidence or that the jury was influenced by matters outside the record.
[1] A trial court abuses its discretion in granting a new trial by setting aside a jury verdict without providing reasons demonstrating the verdict was against the manifest w…
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Standard for when a trial court may properly set aside a jury verdict and grant a new trial
Plaintiff Dorrett Angela Atkins obtained a jury verdict awarding damages for future lost earning ability. The trial court granted defendants' motion f…
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PER CURIAM.
Plaintiff, Dorrett Angela Atkins, appeals an order granting defendants’ motion for a new trial. For the following reasons, we reverse.
While plaintiffs interrogatory answers and trial testimony may have been sufficiently confused, equivocal, or contradictory to place her credibility in question, this issue was for the jury. See Dunne v. Somoano, 550 So. 2d 5, 7 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989), rev. denied, 563 So. 2d 631 (Fla.1990). Plaintiff never waived her right to a jury determination of future damages for lost earning ability, and there was substantial evidence from which the jury could rationally have determined liability for future damages and the specific amount they awarded. The new trial order does not provide reasons “to support the notion that the verdict was against the manifest weight of the evidence or that the jury was influenced by matters outside the record,” Ashcroft v. Colder Race Course, 492 So. 2d 1309, 1313 (Fla.1986), but is, rather, conclusory and belied by the evidence. The trial court thus abused its discretion in setting aside the award and ordering a new trial, warranting reversal. See Silvia v. Zayre Corp., 233 So. 2d 856 (Fla. 3d DCA) (recognizing the stronger showing of abuse of discretion required to overturn an order granting a new trial than an order denying a new trial), cert, denied, 238 So. 2d 112 (Fla.1970). The order granting a new trial is quashed and the trial court is instructed to enter judgment for plaintiff in the full amount of the jury award.
Reversed and remanded.
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Allstate Ins. Co. v. Hinchey, 701 So. 2d 1263 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)…rovince of the jury by reweighing the credi [*1266] bility of witnesses because the jury determines when “the truth is out there.” Ample evidence existed to support the jury’s verdict and thus the order below must be reversed. See Atkins v. Hansel, 668 So. 2d 663 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996); Miller v. Affleck, M.D., 332 So. 2d 79 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993); Tuttle v. Miami Dolphins, Ltd., 551 So. 2d at 482. Reversed. . Not related to Agent Scully of "The X-Files.”…
Authorities Cited
- Ashcroft v. Calder Race Course, Inc., 492 So. 2d 1309 (Fla. 1986)
- Silvia v. Zayre Corp., 233 So. 2d 856 (Fla. 3d DCA 1970)
- Dunne v. Julio Somoano, M.D., 550 So. 2d 5 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)
- Davis v. Diamond "S" Constructors, 238 So. 2d 112 (Fla. 1970)
- Zayre Corp. v. Silvia, 238 So. 2d 112 (Fla. 1970)