Opinion ID: 1846468
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Was the Compensatory-Damages Award Excessive?

Text: National contends that the $201,000 compensatory-damages award, an award it claims represents damages solely for mental anguish, is excessive because, it says, Sockwell failed to give sufficient testimony regarding her alleged mental anguish to justify that award. Regarding our review of a jury's award of damages based on a claim of excessiveness, this Court has recognized: The authority to disturb a jury verdict on the ground of excessiveness of damages is one which should be exercised with great caution.... . . . . We begin by recognizing that the right to a trial by jury is a fundamental, constitutionally guaranteed right, Art. I, § 11, Const. of 1901, and, therefore, that a jury verdict may not be set aside unless the verdict is flawed, thereby losing its constitutional protection. It is only in those cases that a trial court, pursuant to [Ala]. R. Civ. P. 59(f), and this Court, pursuant to Code 1975, § 12-22-71, may interfere with a jury verdict. Insofar as damages are concerned, a jury verdict may be flawed in two ways. First, it may include or exclude a sum which is clearly recoverable or not as a matter of law, or which is totally unsupported by the evidence, where there is an exact standard or rule of law that makes the damages legally and mathematically ascertainable at a precise figure. In these situations, a trial court may, and should, reduce or increase the amount of the verdict to reflect the amount to which the parties are entitled as a matter of law. Second, a jury verdict may be flawed because it results, not from the evidence and applicable law, but from bias, passion, prejudice, corruption, or other improper motive. It is this category of cases that most troubles both trial and appellate courts. The cases have consistently held that in deciding whether a jury verdict is excessive because it is the result of passion, bias, corruption, or other improper motive, a trial judge may not substitute his judgment for that of the jury. We have also recognized that the trial judge is better positioned to decide whether the verdict is so flawed. He has the advantage of observing all of the parties to the trialplaintiff and defendant and their respective attorneys, as well as the jury and its reaction to all of the others. There are many facets of a trial that can never be captured in a record, so that the appellate courts are at a special disadvantage when they are called upon to review trial court action in this sensitive area, although increasingly they are required to do so. Therefore, it is not only appropriate, but indeed our duty, to require the trial courts to reflect in the record the reasons for interfering with a jury verdict, or refusing to do so, on grounds of excessiveness of the damages. Hammond v. City of Gadsden, 493 So.2d 1374, 1378-79 (Ala.1986) (citations omitted); see also Norfolk Southern Ry. v. Bradley, 772 So.2d 1147, 1154-55 (Ala. 2000). Since the issuance of our opinion in Hammond v. City of Gadsden, supra, we have addressed the issue of mental-anguish damages more directly, recognizing an additional basis upon which a jury's verdict awarding damages for mental anguish or emotional distress may be flawed. In Kmart Corp. v. Kyles, 723 So.2d 572, 578 (Ala.1998), we held that an award of mental-anguish damages was subject to a strict-scrutiny analysis if the plaintiff suffered no physical injury and offered little or no direct evidence concerning the mental suffering sustained as a result of the defendant's wrongdoing. Id. Our holding in Kyles did not alter the law as previously established in Alabama, that the presence of a physical injury or physical symptoms is not a prerequisite for a claim of damages for mental anguish, and that once the plaintiff has presented some evidence of mental anguish, the question of damages for mental anguish is for the jury. Alabama Power Co. v. Harmon, 483 So.2d 386, 389 (Ala.1986). Our holding in Kyles simply addressed the strength of the presumption of correctness to be placed on the jury's award in cases where the plaintiff has suffered no physical injury or physical suffering and offers little or no evidence concerning the nature of his or her alleged mental anguish. See Kyles, 723 So.2d at 578. However, the strict-scrutiny rule established in Kyles is inapplicable in a case where the plaintiff suffers physical injury or pain in conjunction with emotional distress. Daniels v. East Alabama Paving, Inc., 740 So.2d 1033, 1044 (Ala. 1999) (That principle established in [Kyles] does not apply in this case, because the Danielses each suffered physical injuries and experienced varying degrees of pain and suffering.). In Daniels, we also stated that [j]ury verdicts are presumed correct, `especially where damages awarded are for pain and suffering.' Daniels, 740 So.2d at 1045, quoting Coca-Cola Bottling Co. v. Parker, 451 So.2d 786, 788 (Ala.1984). The record in this case reveals that Sockwell presented evidence to the jury establishing that she suffered both physical pain and mental anguish as a result of National's wrongdoing. Sockwell testified as follows: A: First, it confused me because I couldn't understand why a company that I had put my faith and trust in, you know, to be there for me when I need them. And, you know, to turn me down a second time, hurt. It really hurt, and then I became angry. And that posed another stressful situation. Q: Did it make you mad? A: Yes. Q: Betty, the feelings that you had about this, the emotions that you experienced, how did they affect you physically, if at all? A: I couldn't sleep. I would get tired, and this would cause my problems to get worse. The pain would get worse. ThatAnd that would mean having to take extra medication to try and keep the pain in control. That would make me tired and sleepy. And I didn't feel like doing anything. So I just, basically, just, kind of, had to lay around and take medication to try and keep things under control. We acknowledge that Sockwell's physical injuries did not originally arise from tortious conduct on the part of National. However, Sockwell testified that her physical condition worsened as a result of National's wrongdoing. Under basic tort principles, National must take Sockwell in whatever condition it finds her. The simple fact that, at the time National acted wrongfully, Sockwell was already suffering from some degree of physical pain does not insulate National from liability for its wrongful actions that directly worsened her pain. Because Sockwell testified that she suffered both emotionally and physically as a result of National's misconduct, the strict-scrutiny standard of Kyles does not apply in this case. See Daniels, supra. Thus, our review of the compensatory-damages award is limited to the question whether the amount of damages awarded was the result of passion, bias, corruption, or other improper motive. In his posttrial order, the trial judge noted no such improper action by the jury, and he refused to remit the compensatory-damages award. We likewise find nothing in the record to indicate that the jury's award was the result of passion, bias, corruption, or other improper motive. We agree with the trial judge's assessment as to this issue. Because the record contains evidence in support of the jury's verdict, we decline to interfere with the award of $201,000 in compensatory damages to Sockwell. Simply because the amount awarded Sockwell for her pain and suffering was significant does not justify interfering with an otherwise proper jury verdict. This Court has long held that `[t]here is no fixed standard for ascertainment of compensatory damages recoverable ... for physical pain and mental suffering' and that `the amount of such [an] award is left to the sound discretion of the jury, subject only to correction by the court for clear abuse and passionate exercise of that discretion.' This Court has consistently held that a trial court cannot interfere with a jury verdict merely because it believes the jury gave too little or too much. Daniels, supra, 740 So.2d at 1044 (citations omitted). We affirm the award of $201,000 in compensatory damages.