Williams v. Lloyd
Williams v. Lloyd
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff Ada Williams sued for $20,000.-00 general damages and $3,000.00 special damages for injuries allegedly suffered to her neck and back in an automobile collision ; and her husband R. Leroy Williams sued for various items of alleged loss incidental to his wife’s injuries including $750.-00 anticipated to be made from hunting and trapping muskrat which he was unable to do because of the loss of use of his car; $5,000.00 loss of consortium. The issue
In their first point urged on appeal plaintiffs complain of the conduct of the trial court in connection with the instructions to the jury. After the instructions were read, defense counsel, in the presence of the jury, called the judge’s attention to his failure to instruct on the plaintiffs’ burden to prove their case by a preponderance of the evidence. After a brief discussion at the bench, the judge amended his instructions and included a proper instruction on the subject mentioned. Plaintiffs stated no objection to that procedure and are therefore precluded from assigning it as error now. Rule 51, U.R.C.P., provides that “No party may assign as error the giving or the failure to give as an instruction unless he objects thereto.” It is true that the requirement is not absolutely rigid, but that under the rule, and our decisions, a review of error without such objection may be had. But this will be done only under unusual circumstances where the interests of justice urgently so demand.
The gravamen of plaintiffs’ appeal is their contention that the damages awarded are so small in relation to the actual damages suffered that the trial court abused its discretion in not granting a new trial or an additur of damages to something realistically related to the damages allegedly suffered. We acknowledge the correctness of plaintiffs’ contention that the majority of this court in divided decision has approved the granting of an additur under proper circumstances.
Fundamental to the problem here presented is the proposition that the determination of damages is peculiarly within
The collision left plaintiff Ada Williams without any cuts or bruises, or other objective evidence of injury. Thus whatever pain and other symptoms she suffered were subjective. Without going into any extensive detail, it can be said in summary that there is a basis in the evidence upon which the jury could reasonably believe that she suffered from pre-existing degenerative arthritis which was mainly the cause of the distress she complains of. In addition thereto, from what they could regard as inconsistencies in her testimony about her prior physical condition and her hospitalization, the jury could believe that she was something considerably less than forthright in representations made concernings those facts. The expert witnesses could only testify that the collision may have aggravated her pre-existing arthritic condition. The same general rules stated above apply to the claims made by the husband, Leroy Williams, which the jury could reasonably regard as exaggerated and as not necessarily resulting as a natural consequence of the collision.
In reference to an offer of settlement which the plaintiff had rejected, the trial court made the remark that “sometimes a good settlement is better than a lawsuit,” which is often pertinent to situations such as this. When the parties have made their choice to go to trial and have had a full and fair opportunity to present their evidence and contentions and the jury has, in accordance with its prerogatives, rendered its verdict, it is not properly within the province of the court to rescue the parties from a bad choice. So long as there is any reasonable basis in the evidence to justify the verdict, it should stand.
Affirmed. Costs to defendant.
. See statement in Hill v. Cloward, 14 Utah 2d 55, 58, 377 P.2d 186; See also Cordner v. Clingers Inc., 15 Utah 2d 85, 387 P.2d 685; and Hanson v. General Builders Supply Co., 15 Utah 2d 143, 389 P.2d 61.
. Bodon v. Suhrmann, 8 Utah 2d 42, 327 P.2d 826.
. See Paul v. Kirkendall, 1 Utah 2d 1, 261 P.2d 670.
. See Joseph v. W. H. Groves L. D. S. Hospital, 10 Utah 2d 94, 348 P.2d 935.
. See Hales v. Peterson, 11 Utah 2d 411, 360 P.2d 822.
Concurring Opinion
(concurring).
I concur. Doing so I note with some sort of satisfaction that by and large the main opinion has emasculated the decision
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Ada WILLIAMS and R. Leroy Williams, Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. Joyce J. LLOYD, Defendant and Respondent
- Cited By
- 10 cases
- Status
- Published