Opinion ID: 525600
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: appellee's cross-points

Text: 29 Dr. Rathjen cross-appealed two issues: the trial court's failure to enter judgment on the jury verdict awarding $25,000 in punitive damages against the Mayor of Houston; and its rejection of a motion for new trial on Rathjen's first amendment claim. The first issue is wholly unsustainable, because the jury found no basis for liability against the mayor, and liability is a sine qua non of a damage award. Likewise, the trial court did not abuse its broad discretion in failing to grant a new trial on an issue decided adversely to Rathjen by the jury and supported by the evidence. Conway v. Chemical Leaman Tank Lines, 610 F.2d 360, 363 (5th Cir.1980).