Opinion ID: 1822112
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Denial of Green Tree's Motion for New Trial

Text: Green Tree contends that the trial court erred in denying its motion for a new trial. Green Tree maintains that a new trial was warranted due to the large amount of the verdicts and the purportedly evident passion and prejudice of the jury, and because the verdicts were against the great weight of the evidence. This Court has required that trial courts set out in the record their reasons for interfering with a jury verdict, or for refusing to do so, on grounds of excessiveness of damages. Hammond v. City of Gadsden, 493 So.2d 1374, 1379 (Ala.1986). In its order denying Green Tree's motion for a new trial, the trial court fully complied with that requirement. The court stated that it observed the demeanor of the witnesses, parties, and lawyers and saw no evidence of misconduct that would have biased the jury against Green Tree. The trial court also stated that it was convinced that the jury reasonably considered all of the evidence presented and applied the law as given in the jury charges in reaching its verdicts. The trial court was convinced that those verdicts were not tainted by bias, prejudice, or emotion. Finally, the trial court stated that the size of the verdicts was not shocking to the conscience or excessive as a matter of law and were not so large as to unduly burden Green Tree. The trial court also examined the totality of the evidence produced by the parties. The court found that sufficient evidence was produced to support the verdicts of the jury and the court therefore refused to interfere with those verdicts. The decision to grant or to deny a motion for new trial rests within the sound discretion of the trial court, and the exercise of that discretion will not be disturbed on appeal unless some legal right was abused and the record plainly and palpably shows that the trial court was in error. Hill v. Cherry, 379 So.2d 590 (Ala.1980). After reviewing the record, this Court finds no indication of such abuse or error. Green Tree's motion for a new trial was properly denied. Green Tree also argues that a new trial was required because the verdict forms did not distinguish between compensatory damages and punitive damages. Ala.Code 1975, § 6-11-1 (Supp.1988), does require that verdict forms in tort actions and breach of warranty actions be itemized, distinguishing between past, future, and punitive damages. Although there is no dispute that the jury did not utilize itemized verdict forms, there is no evidence that this error was brought to the attention of the trial court. Green Tree was given permission, after the jury had retired, to read objections into the record concerning its motion for directed verdict, apparently for the sake of recording its assertions of grounds for directed verdict that had already been made off the record. At that time, Green Tree's lawyer made an objection to the verdict forms. That objection exceeded the scope of the permission granted by the trial court and was made outside the presence of the trial judge and the opposing lawyers. The trial court had no notice of this objection and therefore had no opportunity to rule on it. This Court will not put a trial court in error for failure to rule on a matter that, according to the record, was neither presented to nor decided by it. Defore v. Bourjois, Inc., 268 Ala. 228, 105 So.2d 846, 847 (1958).