Williams v. Watson
Williams v. Watson
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
These are diversity actions for damages for personal injuries and property damage arising from a motor vehicle collision. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a) (1). The jury returned verdicts for each of the plaintiffs against the defendant and awarded Mr. Williams $10,000 and Mrs. Williams $25,000 in damages.
There is no merit to the ground of such motion regarding the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdicts. No motions for directed verdicts were made, so such ground is not available on this motion for a new trial. Southern Railway Company v. Miller, C.A. 6th (1960), 285 F.2d 202, 206 [2]; see also Cutter v. Cincinnati Union Terminal Co., C.A. 6th (1966), 361 F.2d 637, 638 [1],
The verdicts of the jury are not contrary to the preponderate weight of the evidence. It reflected that in
The verdicts are not excessive: Mr. Williams had special damages of $5,051.43, including $600 in lost earnings. There was expert medical opinion that he had a permanent impairment approximating 25% to his body as whole. He had a life expectancy at trial of 12.9 years. Mrs. Williams sustained a 25% hearing impairment, and it was necessary to implace a plastic eye socket under her left eye. She had a life expectancy of 14.14 years at trial and senses a feeling, which she likened to one of “ice” in a cardboard box, in her left eye; a lack of feeling in her upper lip; breathing difficulties; and difficulties with smelling and chewing. There is not present any situation which would warrant interference with the jury awards. See Jenkins v. Associated Transport, Inc., C.A. 6th (1964), 330 F.2d 706, 712 [12-13]; Collins v. Clayton & Lambert Manufacturing Co., C.A. 6th (1962), 299 F.2d 362, 365 [7, 8].
In the fourth ground of the defendant’s motion, he sets forth what he claims was a special request which the Court refused. No such request was submitted, although the defendant’s special request no. 4 was akin thereto. It was not timely filed, pretrial order of October 13, 1970, VIII, herein; but was considered at the completion of the Court’s main instructions. It was denied at that time as proposing an incorrect statement of the law. See Fontaine v. Mason Dixon Freight Lines (1961), 49 Tenn.App. 598, 357 S.W.2d 631, 632-634 [1], certiorari denied (1962).
The Court did not err in excluding evidence of a statement the witness Mr. Pogue purportedly made to the defendant Mr. Watson some two minutes after the accident, relating to Mr. Pogue’s opinion of the cause thereof. See Mason & Dixon Lines, Inc. v. Gregory (1960), 206 Tenn. 525, 334 S.W.2d 939, 943 [2]; Armstrong v. Bowman (1937), 21 Tenn.App. 673, 686 [19], 115 S.W.2d 229, certiorari denied (1938). A mere opinion is incompetent to form the basis of a res gestae exception to the rule excluding hearsay evidence. Field v. North Coast Transp. Co. (1931), 164 Wash. 123, 2 P.2d 672; see also Anno. —Accident—Res Gestae Utterances, 163 A.L.R. 186-189, b.
For all such reasons the motion of the defendant Mr. Watson for a new trial hereby is
Overruled.
By reason of prior releases given by the respective plaintiffs to other persons jointly liable for the injuries and damages to each of them, the respective awards of the jury were reduced to $6,500 for Mr. Williams and $21,500 for Mrs. Williams. Judgment was entered for the reduced amounts, respectively.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Frank WILLIAMS v. Willard WATSON, Defendant Margaret WILLIAMS v. Willard WATSON
- Status
- Published