Opinion ID: 2549172
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Procedural Issues with Crossclaims and Cross-Defendants

Text: Scapa asks this Court to reverse the holding of the Court of Special Appeals, which affirmed the trial court's denial of Scapa's JNOV motion on its cross-claims against settling Co-Defendants, Westinghouse, Asten, and Albany. Saville II, 190 Md.App. at 351, 988 A.2d at 1070. The Court of Special Appeals held that Scapa did not comply with Md. Rule 2-532, requiring a motion for judgment prior to a motion for JNOV. The intermediate appellate court reasoned that because this Court's opinion in GMC v. Seay, 388 Md. 341, 879 A.2d 1049 (2005) requires strict compliance with Rule 2-532 and because Scapa did not prove that the stipulation entered into between the parties on the management of the cross-claims was an adequate substitute for a motion for judgment, the denial of the motion by the trial court would not be overturned. Saville II, 190 Md.App. at 350-51, 988 A.2d at 1070. The Court of Special Appeals noted that: [e]ven if appellants were able to navigate around that mandate [that GMC v. Seay, 388 Md. 341, 879 A.2d 1049 (2005) requires strict compliance with Rule 2-532], they would have to demonstrate to our satisfaction that the rule's two `fundamental purposes' were met by other means. The record before us does not support that contention. Saville II, 190 Md.App. at 350, 988 A.2d at 1070. Notwithstanding clever phrasing on Scapa's part, [8] this Court's task on this issue is, again, to determine whether the trial court erred in not granting Scapa's motion for JNOV on its cross-claims at the close of all the evidence. Before the Court of Special Appeals, Scapa argued that the evidence against the cross-defendants proved that [Mr. Saville] had more exposure to the cross-defendants' products than to Scapa's products, and that the jury's verdict [assessing liability against only Scapa and W & G] is therefore inconsistent and warrants a JNOV. Saville II, 190 Md.App. at 347, 988 A.2d at 1068. We iterate the summation of the intermediate appellate court: We review the trial court's decision to allow or deny judgment or JNOV to determine whether it was legally correct. Judgment as a matter of law is appropriate if all evidence and inferences permit only one consideration. If there is any competent evidence, however slight, leading to support the plaintiff's right to recover, the case should be submitted to the jury. Saville II, 190 Md.App. at 343, 988 A.2d at 1065-66 (internal citations omitted). The record indicates, and we have discussed supra, that there was sufficient evidence to deny Scapa's motions for judgment and JNOV on Mr. Saville's claims. Additionally, a review of the record indicates that there was sufficient evidence, when viewed in a light most favorable to the non-moving cross-defendants, to submit the issue of cross-defendants' liability to the jury. The trial judge's comments, supra footnote 8, indicate that he considered the merits of Scapa's JNOV motion, and ruled that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict that assessed no liability against the cross-defendants. Accordingly, we affirm that judgment. Scapa asserted cross-claims against all of the companies named in Mr. Saville's original suit. On January 18, 2008, Scapa filed, and W & G adopted, a Motion for the Court to Adjudicate Cross Claims in Non-Jury Cross Claims Proceeding drawing the trial court's attention to the tri-furcated trial conducted in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, noting that the procedure was not condemned on appeal. See MCIC, Inc. v. Zenobia, 86 Md.App. 456, 484-93, 587 A.2d 531, 545-47 (1991), rev'd in part on other grounds, Owens-Illinois, Inc. et al. v. Zenobia, 325 Md. 420, 601 A.2d 633 (1992) (affirming the trial court's ruling on cross-claims for contribution where the trial judge conducted a separate, non-jury cross-claims trial on liability and damages and relied chiefly on the trial record in granting all the cross-claims for contribution). Scapa argued in the motion that it intended to put on evidence in its case-in-chief against defendants who had previously settled with Mr. Saville: Westinghouse, Asten, Albany, Garlock, Inc., and Certainteed; as well as against the remaining non-settling co-defendant, W & G; and against defendants who were then in Bankruptcy, namely Celotex Asbestos Trust, Combustion Engineering Personal Injury Trust, Eagle Pitcher Industries Personal Injury Settlement Trust, H.K. Porter, Inc. Asbestos Trust, and Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust. Scapa argued that the evidence would prove their joint tort-feasor status under the Maryland Uniform Contribution Among Joint TortFeasors Act, Md. Code, (1973, 2006 Repl. Vol.) §§ 3-1401-09 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article (Joint Tort-feasors Act). [9] The record does not indicate that the trial judge expressly ruled on Scapa's January 18th motion to adjudicate all cross-claim issues, of liability and damages, in a non-jury trial, but the trial judge did express reluctance at proceeding that way based on Md. Rule 2-325(e), which requires a jury trial as to all claims once elected by any party. [10] Scapa's counsel argued that the cross-defendants had to be placed on the verdict sheet because if the jury found them to be liable for Mr. Saville's injuries, then there would necessarily be a pro rata reduction of any judgment according to the Joint Tort-Feasors Act. Scapa, Mr. Saville, and co-defendant W & G, agreed that the liability of the settling cross-defendants would have to be proven at trial because their releases with Mr. Saville had been executed without any admission of liability. The parties, however, did not agree on how to determine the cross-claim shares of any ultimate jury damage award. Ultimately, the parties resolved the impasse by stipulation, on January 23, 2008, stating: The Parties are going to stipulate that Asten, Albany, or [and] Westinghouse go on the verdict forms as potential shares. There will be no judgment from the pleadings on them. Scapa will put into evidence with respect to thosewe are going to truncate what we are going to offer to Your Honor. And it will be verified interrogatories about them and some documents, but that we won't need to get into the issue of all these other coworker depositions. Scapa argues to this Court that the stipulation meant that in exchange for truncating its cross-claim evidence, Mr. Saville would refrain from moving for judgment at the close of Scapa's case-in-chief on the cross-claims. The record indicates that the parties agreed that the shares of any awarded damages would be determined post-verdict by the court, with the assistance of counsel. On January 24, 2008, Scapa presented the evidence on its cross-claims. It read into evidence: Answers to a Request for Admissions by Carl Saville; deposition testimony of Mr. Green, former Westvaco employee; interrogatory answers from Carl Saville, Westinghouse, Asten, and Albany; and Answers to a Request for Admissions from W & G. In addition, W & G admitted into evidence excerpts from deposition testimony of Mr. Jack Smith, a former W & G employee. At the close of evidence on the cross-claims, which was the close of all the evidence, the following exchange took place: [SCAPA'S COUNSEL]: Judge, we wanted to renew our motion THE COURT: Yes. [SCAPA'S COUNSEL]:motion and the testimony of our witnesses we believe shows that we should prevail, Judge. THE COURT: All right. I'll deny the motion for both parties for the same [W & G'S COUNSEL]: And renew mine. THE COURT: Wallace & Gale motions. [SCAPA'S COUNSEL]: And we also have what we filed originally in the court THE COURT: Yes, for the same reasons on the same grounds and you'll reserve all those arguments for post-trial motions and anything else you may raise. Neither party has presented argument to this Court, on specifically which motions were being addressed in this exchange. From our own investigation of the record, we conclude that the motion being renewed is necessarily Scapa's Motion for Judgment at the close of Plaintiff's Evidence filed on January 21, 2008. Moreover, because the parties and the trial court had previously agreed that apportionment of damages amongst any liable cross-defendants would be determined post-verdict, the later instruction by the trial court to reserve all those arguments logically references those contentions on the cross-claim shares, not cross-claim liability. Scapa has told this Court that the stipulation restricted Mr. Saville from moving for judgment on the cross-claims, but did not assert that it was so restricted. Given that all the parties agreed to a liability determination by the jury, and a post-verdict determination of apportionment of damages, it does not appear that Scapa was precluded from moving for judgment on the cross-claims, and indeed it probably should have done so. Scapa, and W & G by adoption of Scapa's motion, chose to bring cross-claims against certain co-defendants in Mr. Saville's case. When procedural rules, particularly Md. Rule 2-325 requiring a jury trial on all claims, threatened Scapa's desired outcome, namely that the cross-defendants would share in its potential liability, it stipulated to a jury trial on liability and a post-verdict resolution of potential cross-claim shares of any damage award. When the cross-defendants were found to be not liable and Scapa and W & G were found liable, Scapa moved for JNOV on Mr. Saville's claims, and in the alternative, Scapa moved for JNOV on the cross-claims. The motions were denied. The trial judge found that there was legally sufficient evidence supporting the verdict against Scapa. Accordingly, the trial judge denied the motion for JNOV as to the cross-claims, not because of a procedural violation of Md. Rule 2-532, which requires moving for judgment prior to moving for JNOV, but because the trial judge did not find a logical way to disrupt the jury's handling of the cross-claim evidence while upholding its treatment of Mr. Saville's evidence. Thus, we decline to reverse the trial court's ruling on Scapa's motion for JNOV on its cross-claims.