Opinion ID: 1688092
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Whether the Circuit Court of Hancock County, Mississippi erred in granting SCI, Inc., Motion for a New Trial or for an Additur.

Text: ¶ 29. The Commission alleges next that the circuit court erred in granting SCI's motion for additur. Although the Commission exercised its option to reject the additur and receive a new trial on damages, we will address the Commission's argument to the extent that it claims that the circuit court should not have disturbed the jury award. We apply the following standard in making such a determination. ... [T]he grant or denial of a motion for a new trial is a matter committed to the sound discretion of the trial court. We reverse only where there has been an abuse of that discretion. In considering a motion for a new trial, the trial judge in exercising his sound discretion may grant the motion thereby overruling the jury's verdict only where such a verdict is against the overwhelming weight of the evidence or is contrary to the law. Allstate Ins. Co. v. McGory, 697 So.2d 1171, 1174 (Miss.1997) (citations omitted). Similarly, this Court consistently has held that the test for deciding whether or not to overturn a granting of additur is whether or not the trial court manifestly abused its discretion. Copeland v. City of Jackson, 548 So.2d 970, 974 (Miss.1989). ¶ 30. In this case, the jury returned a verdict of $2,370,888.85 in favor of SCI. Subsequently, SCI moved for a new trial or additur on the following grounds: (1) during closing arguments, an attorney for the Commission made improper comments; (2) the amount of the judgment was inadequate and was contrary to the overwhelming weight of credible evidence; and (3) the amount of the judgment evidences that the jury was wrongfully influenced by bias, prejudice and/or passion. The circuit court granted the additur, pursuant to the standards enunciated in Miss.Code Ann. § 11-1-55 (1991). ¶ 31. We note that SCI presented testimony from Mike Vickery regarding the rental value of depreciated equipment, the value of stock items used by SCI, and lost profits due to the Commission's breach. Further, as was noted by the circuit court below, Jackie Duckworth, the auditor who testified for the Commission, did not include in his estimate of SCI's loss numerous items of damages experienced by SCI. In its brief, the Commission argues that the damages incurred and calculated by SCI were disputed. SCI argued in the hearing on the motion for additur that Vickery's testimony clearly established the damages recoverable by SCI and that Exhibit 83, a summation of the damages, was not contradicted. The circuit court below apparently relied heavily on the fact that Duckworth did not take into account all elements of loss sustained by SCI and therefore concluded that the overwhelming weight of the evidence supported a greater award. ¶ 32. The circuit court also determined that another basis for an additur was the improper comment made by the Commission's attorney. In Dykes v. State Highway Comm'n of Mississippi, 535 So.2d 1349, 1352-53 (Miss. 1988), this Court reiterated that statements during closing arguments by counsel for the Commission that the department was working for the jurors as citizens and taxpayers constituted reversible error. The following statements were made during closing argument by SCI's attorney: Prewitt: Time doesn't pay in this game. Crime doesn't pay. Time doesn't pay in the construction business. This argument that they're going to grant us time sometime later on, it doesn't work. It's like Bosnia, slaughter the innocent, reward the victims. Let the Goliaths fight it out. We ask The Commission's attorney then interrupted: Lusk: If Your Honor pleaseexcuse me, Mr. PrewittI let him get by with two that I wanted to complain about. One, he refers to MDOT as the people with the money. I think that is The Court: I haven't heard that, Mr. Lusk. Lusk: Sir? The Court: I haven't heard that. Lusk: Well, I did. Anywayall right, maybe they won't do it again. The second is calling us the Goliath. That should allow us to call ourselves the stewards for the taxpayers, which we can't do, and I wouldn't consider doing it. The circuit court found that the Commission's attorney knowingly made an improper statement in the jury's presence, and it accordingly determined that the verdict was so low as to have been returned by a jury impermissibly influenced by bias, prejudice or passion. ¶ 33. We do not believe that the damage portion of the verdict was contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence, since both the Commission and SCI elicited much testimony regarding the damages incurred by SCI as a result of the Commission's breach. This testimony did conflict, and resulted in different expectations for each party. Deferring to the discretion of the circuit court in this matter and the evidence presented, we cannot say that the circuit court abused its discretion in originally imposing an additur on behalf of SCI. Nonetheless, we hasten to note our agreement with the circuit court that the statements made by the Commission's attorney could have improperly biased or prejudiced the jury. At the same time, the comment by SCI's attorney referring to MDOT as Goliaths in front of the jury probably invited the comment by the Commission's attorney. When attorneys make comments like these, a disservice is done to all clients. Such commentary only inflames the minds of jurors. The statements are not in keeping with the oath taken by attorneys, and they only serve to delay justice. While we will not do so in this case, we reserve the prerogative to impose sanctions, which may include substantial monetary fines, upon attorneys who make such statements in the future.