Opinion ID: 1737828
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: whether the trial court had the authority and/or jurisdiction to grant a new trial on all issues.

Text: Cleo Clark argues that Judge Eubanks had neither the jurisdiction nor the authority to grant a new trial on all issues in his December 17, 1987 Order. Craig Viniard had moved the court for Additur or in the Alternative, for a New Trial on the Issue of Damages Only on September 28, 1987, within ten days from the date of the entry of judgment (September 21, 1987) as required by Miss.R.Civ.P. 59(b). Clark argues that the trial judge granted the new trial motion on his own initiative, and was prohibited from doing so after ten days after the entry of the judgment by Miss.R. Civ.P. 59(d). Craig Viniard maintains that the trial judge was not acting on his own initiative, as he had never ruled on the September 28 new trial motion on the issue of damages only. According to Viniard, the court still had jurisdiction and inherent authority to grant a new trial on all issues even though the ten-day limit had long since passed. Rule 59(d) of the Miss.R.Civ.P. states as follows: (d) On Initiative of Court. Not later than ten days after entry of judgment the court may on its own initiative order a new trial for any reason for which it might have granted a new trial on motion of a party. After giving the parties notice and an opportunity to be heard on the matter, the court may grant a motion for a new trial, timely served, for a reason not stated in the motion. In either case, the court shall specify in the order the grounds therefor. This Court often looks to federal authority when construing state rules of civil procedure. Brown v. Credit Center, Inc., 444 So.2d 358, 362-363 (Miss. 1983). According to one federal authority, [i]f, therefore, no party has made a motion which suspends the finality of a judgment and tolls the time for appeal, Rule 59(d) clearly limits the power of the court to grant a new trial to a time not later than 10 days after the entry of judgment. But once the finality of the judgment has been suspended by a proper motion, which is pending and undecided, the second sentence of Rule 59(d), added in 1966, makes it clear that after giving the parties notice and an opportunity to be heard, the trial court has the power to grant a new trial, on its own initiative, more than 10 days after the entry of judgment for any reason for which it might have granted a new trial on motion of a party. Prior to the 1966 amendment the great weight of authority was to the effect that the court could not grant a new trial, on its own motion, after the ten day period, for a reason not stated in the party's motion for new trial. 6A J. Moore, J. Lucas & G. Grotheer, Moore's Federal Practice ¶ 59.11 (2d ed. 1989); (emphasis added) see also 11 C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2813 (1973); Roy v. Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft, 781 F.2d 670 (9th Cir.1985). The trial court never overruled Craig Viniard's Motion for New Trial, but rather expanded that Motion into its own Motion for a New Trial on All Issues, and then granted it. This Court finds that the trial court did not act on its own initiative to the extent that it would be prohibited from granting the new trial motion under Miss.R.Civ.P. 59(d). Cleo Clark lists as an assignment of error that the granting of a new trial was an abuse of discretion by the trial court, but she does not actually argue this point in either of her briefs. According to Miss.R. Civ.P. 59(a): (a) Grounds. A new trial may be granted to all or any of the parties and on all or part of the issues (1) in an action in which there has been a trial by jury, for any of the reasons for which new trials have heretofore been granted in actions at law in the courts of Mississippi; ... . In its December 17, 1987 Order, the trial court gave two reasons for granting a new trial: (1) the jury must have been confused, as it found for the Plaintiff but awarded no damages despite uncontroverted evidence of such; (2) improperly prejudicial evidence was allowed to go to the jury. That a jury may have become confused during the course of its deliberations has been found to be adequate grounds for granting of a new trial. Griffin v. Fletcher, 362 So.2d 594, 596 (Miss. 1978). The trial court may also grant a new trial when it is convinced that the jury has departed from its oath and its verdict is a result of bias, passion, and prejudice. Clayton v. Thompson, 475 So.2d 439, 443 (Miss. 1985). This Court held that in the absence of a specific finding by the circuit judge that the jury was influenced by bias, prejudice or passion, it is error to order a new trial on damages or an additur or remittitur. Gibbs v. Banks, 527 So.2d 658 (Miss. 1988); McIntosh v. Deas, 501 So.2d 367 (Miss. 1987); Odom v. Parker, et al., 547 So.2d 1155 (Miss. 1989). Further we note that Miss. Code Ann. §§ 11-7-213 and 11-1-55 are statutory expressions in regard to a motion for new trial concerning excessiveness or inadequacy of damages, additur or remittitur, but those sections are not here applicable because of the finding of the trial court. The granting of a new trial on all issues was not an abuse of discretion on the part of the trial court. This Court finds no reversible error committed by the court below and therefore Judgment of the Circuit Court is affirmed. AFFIRMED. ROY NOBLE LEE, C.J., HAWKINS and DAN M. LEE, P.JJ., and PRATHER, ROBERTSON, SULLIVAN, ANDERSON and BLASS, JJ., concur.