Opinion ID: 1890354
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: After-tax instruction

Text: CSX asserts that the trial court committed reversible error by refusing to instruct the jury to calculate Moody's lost after-tax earnings. An alternative argument relies on Reusch v. Seaboard System R. R. [46] for the proposition that Moody had the burden to prove his after-tax earnings in order to permit his future wage loss to be calculated and failed to meet that burden. We disagree. Filed on June 27, 2003, Moody's itemized damage list stated that he earned approximately $67,000 per year plus approximately $14,000 in travel pay; thus, he would lose approximately $6,700 per month due to his inability to work. He testified at trial that he made $4,500 per month and intended to retire from CSX at age 60. He did not specify whether the $4,500 figure represented his gross or after-tax earnings. CSX failed to cross-examine him and, unlike the defendant in Liepelt , [47] offered no evidence of its own concerning taxes. When denying the tendered instruction the trial court noted and CSX conceded the impossibility of determining that $4,500 was not Moody's after-tax earnings. Moody questioned what tax rates the jury would apply if the $4,500 per month was reduced for taxes. [48] The trial court did not err by refusing the requested after-tax instruction because, even if we were to assume for the purposes of discussion that Moody's gross monthly earnings were $4,500, the jury had no evidence from which to calculate his after-tax earnings. An instruction to reduce future lost earnings by the applicable taxes requires evidence of what the taxes would be or evidence to permit the jury to calculate taxes. Liepelt did not address which party is responsible for showing the applicable tax rates. Federal appellate courts that have addressed the matter since the Liepelt decision have concluded that the defendant is responsible. [49] We agree.