Opinion ID: 1130345
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Jury Claims

Text: CIT contends that it is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law, or, alternatively, that it is entitled to a new trial on the ground that the trial court erred in refusing its written requested jury charge on ratification. At the outset, we note that CIT was not entitled to a judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Guided by the scintilla rule, we find that there was sufficient evidence introduced to produce a conflict warranting a jury's consideration of the negligence claim. Bradford v. McGee, 534 So.2d 1076 (Ala.1988). The jury specifically found that CIT was not guilty of wantonness. There was also a scintilla of evidence that Ms. Bowler ratified the mortgage, and the scintilla of evidence rule applies to affirmative defenses, as well as to a plaintiff's claims. McHugh v. Harrison, 266 Ala. 138, 94 So. 2d 756 (1957). A ratification occurs when a principal retains the benefits resulting from his agent's unauthorized acts with knowledge of the material facts surrounding the transaction. Tuskegee Institute v. May Refrigeration Co., 344 So.2d 156 (Ala.1977); see Gray v. Great American Reserve Ins. Co., 495 So.2d 602, 607 (Ala.1986); Cole v. Racetrac Petroleum, Inc., 466 So.2d 93 (Ala. 1985); Farmers & Ginners Cotton Oil Co. v. Hogan, 267 Ala. 248, 100 So.2d 761 (1957); see, also, Annot., 82 A.L.R.3d 613, 651, and Code 1975, § 7-3-404. The record shows that Ms. Bowler was at home when a real estate appraiser appraised the home for this second mortgage; that the loan proceeds were deposited into Dr. and Ms. Bowler's joint checking account; that Ms. Bowler discovered the loan documents and the second mortgage two or three months after Dr. Bowler closed the loan; that Ms. Bowler knew that substantially all of the loan proceeds ($27,391.67) were deposited into this joint checking account; and that Ms. Bowler wrote several checks on this joint checking account after she was aware that the loan proceeds had been deposited into this account. Ms. Bowler was divorced from Dr. Bowler approximately 11 months after the loan was closed, and this second mortgage was an issue in the divorce, and the divorce judgment required Dr. Bowler to satisfy CIT's second mortgage. This evidence would establish at least a scintilla of evidence that Ms. Bowler ratified the mortgage. However, the trial court refused CIT's written requested jury charge on ratification and did not orally instruct the jury on the law of ratification. CIT made a timely objection to the trial court's refusal of this charge. In a jury case a party is entitled to have its case tried to a jury that is given the appropriate standard by which to reach its decision. Kyle v. Selma Medical Center Hospital, 534 So.2d 589 (Ala.1988). A wrongful refusal of a requested jury instruction constitutes a ground for new trial. Matthews v. S.A. Martin & Martin Motors, 394 So.2d 943 (Ala.1981). A new trial was requested and one ground assigned therefor was the refusal to give the requested charge on ratification. The trial court in refusing to give the requested charge stated that ratification is not a defense to negligence or wantonness. The trial court is correct, and it was not error for it to refuse the requested charge on ratification, since only the claims on negligence and wantonness were submitted to the jury. In Campbell v. Burns, 512 So.2d 1341, 1343 (Ala.1987), we wrote: Upon review of a jury verdict, we presume that the verdict was correct; we review the tendencies of the evidence most favorably to the prevailing party; and we indulge such reasonable inferences as the jury was free to draw from the evidence. We will not overturn a jury verdict unless the evidence against the verdict is so much more credible and convincing to the mind than the evidence supporting the verdict that it clearly indicates that the jury's verdict was wrong and unjust. Mid-Continent Refrigerator Co. v. Fulton Grocery, Inc., [503 So.2d 1222 (Ala.1987) ]. Does the evidence clearly indicate that the jury verdict was wrong and unjust as to the amount of damages awarded Ms. Bowler against CIT? We are persuaded that it does not. We affirm the $50,000 jury verdict against CIT in favor of Ms. Bowler.