Opinion ID: 2567208
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Appellate Courts Review Trial Court Decisions to Deny Remittiturs for Abuse of Discretion

Text: ¶ 12 Bunch argues our remittitur jurisprudence has evolved through three stages. In the early pre-1933 stage, courts gave little deference to juries' awards. No statute granted courts the authority to grant a remittitur, but they exercised it as part of their inherent power. See Anderson v. Dalton, 40 Wash.2d 894, 898-99, 246 P.2d 853 (1952). [5] Bunch cites Kohler v. Fairhaven & New Whatcom Railway Co., 8 Wash. 452, 36 P. 253 (1894), to support his contention that early appellate courts reviewed trial courts' decisions on remittiturs for abuse of discretion. Kohler states the decision to grant a new trial because a jury's damages award is excessive is within the discretion of the trial judge. 8 Wash. at 453, 36 P. 253. Appellate courts then apply an abuse of discretion standard. Id. Chief Justice Dunbar dissented: I dissent. The plaintiff has a constitutional right to have the questions of fact involved in his case submitted to the discretion of a jury. The amount of damages which he sustained is as purely a question of fact as any question in the case. I do not deny the right of the court to set aside a verdict when it plainly appears that the verdict was the result of passion or prejudice; but I do most earnestly protest against the court substituting its judgment for the judgment of the jury; and basing its conclusion that the jury was controlled by passion or prejudice on the simple fact that the verdict rendered by the jury was a larger verdict than the court would have rendered if the question had been originally submitted to its discretion. Such an assumption by the courts virtually annuls the right of trial by jury. Practically the question of damages may as well be submitted to the court in the first instance. Id. at 455, 36 P. 253 (Dunbar, C.J., dissenting). ¶ 13 Bunch then argues we turned away from the abuse of discretion standard and freely remitted juries' awards of damages. Cases from the early twentieth century show this court remitting damages awards without mentioning the trial court's discretion. See, e.g., O'Brien v. Griffiths & Sprague Stevedoring Co., 116 Wash. 302, 306, 199 P. 291 (1921); Guignon v. Campbell, 80 Wash. 543, 546, 141 P. 1031 (1914); Thoresen v. St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co., 73 Wash. 99, 108, 131 P. 645 (1913); Nelson v. Bromley, 55 Wash. 256, 258, 104 P. 251 (1909). ¶ 14 Bunch says the second stage began in 1933 when the legislature enacted a statute allowing for remittiturs. Laws of 1933, ch. 138, § 2 (codified at RCW 4.76.030). This statute grants trial courts the authority to grant a new trial or a remittitur if the judge finds the award so excessive as unmistakably to indicate that the amount thereof must have been the result of passion or prejudice. Id. On appeal, the appellate court reviews the trial court's action de novo and applies a strong presumption in favor of the jury's award. Id. The appellate court may uphold the remittitur if it finds the damages awarded in such verdict by the jury were so excessive... as unmistakably to indicate that the amount of the verdict must have been the result of passion or prejudice. Id. The same standard applies to both trial and appellate courts, and the appellate court does not defer to the trial court. ¶ 15 Bunch claims the statute curbed the number of remittiturs granted by appellate courts. While this may be true, Bunch's tidy categories are perhaps a little more fluid. In Zorich v. Billingsley, 55 Wash.2d 865, 869, 350 P.2d 1010 (1960), we remitted the jury's award of damages without mentioning the trial court's discretion. Likewise, in Malstrom v. Kalland, 62 Wash.2d 732, 738-39, 384 P.2d 613 (1963), we remitted a trial judge's award of damages because the facts did not support it. ¶ 16 The third phase, Bunch argues, is based on an understanding of the jury's constitutional role in finding questions of fact. In 1967 we emphasized the jury's role in determining damages: Regardless of the court's assessment of the damages, it may not, after a fair trial, substitute its conclusions for that of the jury on the amount of damages. When the evidence concerning injuries is conflicting, the jury decides whether the injuries are insignificant, minor, moderate, or serious, and it determines the amount of damages. Cox v. Charles Wright Academy, Inc., 70 Wash.2d 173, 176, 422 P.2d 515 (1967) (citation omitted). Later cases have affirmed this principle. See, e.g., James v. Robeck, 79 Wash.2d 864, 869, 490 P.2d 878 (1971) (To the jury is consigned under the constitution the ultimate power to weigh the evidence and determine the facts  and the amount of damages in a particular case is an ultimate fact.). ¶ 17 Based on this view of our jurisprudence, Bunch argues for a bifurcated standard of review. If the damages award is remitted under RCW 4.76.030, the appellate court reviews the remittitur de novo as the statute explicitly provides. But if the trial court exercises its inherent power to remit the damages, then an appellate court reviews for abuse of discretion. Recent case law supports this type of analysis: The appellate court does not engage in exactly the same review as the trial court because deference and weight are also given to the trial court's discretion in denying a new trial on a claim of excessive damages. The verdict is strengthened by denial of a new trial by the trial court. While either the trial court or an appellate court has the power to reduce an award or order a new trial based on excessive damages, appellate review is most narrow and restrained and the appellate court rarely exercises this power. Fisons Corp., 122 Wash.2d at 330, 858 P.2d 1054 (footnotes omitted) (quoting Washburn v. Beatt Equip. Co., 120 Wash.2d 246, 269, 840 P.2d 860 (1992)); see also Bingaman v. Grays Harbor Cmty. Hosp., 103 Wash.2d 831, 835-36, 699 P.2d 1230 (1985). ¶ 18 Bingaman clearly stated the rule for appellate remittiturs: An appellate court will not disturb an award of damages made by a jury unless it is outside the range of substantial evidence in the record, or shocks the conscience of the court, or appears to have been arrived at as the result of passion or prejudice. 103 Wash.2d at 835, 699 P.2d 1230. This rule has not changed. See, e.g., Stevens v. Gordon, 118 Wash.App. 43, 54, 74 P.3d 653 (2003). This specific language does not mention any deference to the trial court and may suggest de novo review. However, in Bingaman, Washburn, and Fisons Corp., we placed the rule within the broader discussion of the trial court's discretion and noted appellate courts should rarely exercise the power since the constitution gives to the jury the duty to find the facts. Thus, abuse of discretion is the appropriate standard of review. ¶ 19 The above discussion demonstrates the need for further refinement. The statute mandates de novo review; our case law requires abuse of discretion review. Bunch reconciles these approaches historically and with a distinction between remittiturs granted under the statute and those granted under the court's inherent power. The historical approach of three distinct stages is not entirely convincing since this court has not hesitated to remit damages when it thought the award excessive. See Billingsley, 55 Wash.2d 865, 350 P.2d 1010. Further, the 1933 statute recognized a strong presumption in favor of the jury's verdict, presumably based on the jury's constitutional role. Likewise, the distinction between statutory and court-based remittiturs is not satisfactory because the standards overlap and courts do not always indicate which standard they are applying. Further, there does not seem to be a solid reason for Bunch's suggested distinction. Under that rule trial courts would probably choose to exercise their inherent power with its greater deference to avoid reversals, rendering the statute superfluous. This makes little sense. ¶ 20 A more satisfying approach is to draw the line between situations in which the trial court remits the award and situations in which the trial court does not. The statutory standard of review (de novo) applies only when the trial court actually remits an award. RCW 4.76.030; see also Ma v. Russell, 71 Wash.2d 657, 430 P.2d 518 (1967) (applying the statute's de novo standard). When the trial court remits an award it invades the constitutional province of the jury, making the less deferential standard of review appropriate. When the trial court refuses to remit the award, then our case law says the verdict is strengthened and the discretion of the trial court should be respected. An appellate court should review the verdict using the usual rule set forth in Bingaman, while respecting the trial court's discretion in denying a remittitur. ¶ 21 Thus, we hold that a trial court order remitting a jury's award of damages is reviewed de novo since it substitutes the court's finding on a question of fact. Trial court orders denying a remittitur are reviewed for abuse of discretion using the substantial evidence, shocks the conscience, and passion and prejudice standard articulated in precedent. This rule harmonizes the statute, our case law, and the jury's constitutional role. [6] ¶ 22 An older Court of Appeals opinion notes the confusion swirling around the standard of review analysis, but it persuasively concludes with the same rule outlined above. See Hendrickson v. Konopaski, 14 Wash. App. 390, 541 P.2d 1001 (1975). The case merits a lengthy quote: We find it impossible to reconcile all the decisions and statements of the Supreme Court pertaining to an abuse of discretion standard of review on the one hand and de novo review on the other. It appears to us, however, that where a trial court has proceeded under RCW 4.76.030, and has either reduced or increased a verdict, de novo review of the evidence becomes the standard of appellate review and the trial court has no discretion where the verdict is within the range of the credible evidence. But, where the trial court has simply granted a new trial under the authority of CR 59(a)(5) on grounds of an excessive or inadequate verdict, an abuse of discretion standard of appellate review is used in recognition of some discretion in the trial court. This distinction is perhaps proper because both a remittitur and additur involve a greater invasion of the jury realm than does the simple grant of a new trial. We also suggest that RCW 4.76.030 creates a presumption favoring a jury verdict and mentions de novo review by the appellate court under certain circumstances. In contradistinction, CR 59 speaks more in language of discretion than does the statute. Whatever the real merit of this distinction, it is clear the function of the appellate court has been similar whether the statute or the court rule has been used as the basis of the trial court's decision. In both types of cases the appellate courts have reviewed the evidence to determine whether sufficient credible evidence existed, whether or not conflicting or disputed, which would factually support a verdict of the size rendered. Id. at 394-95, 541 P.2d 1001 (citations omitted). The court is right to note that much of the haggling over the proper standard of review when the trial court grants a new trial or a remittitur is semantics. See supra note 5. The substance of the review for substantial evidence remains the same. This case does not require us to sort out the conflicting authority, however, since the trial court denied the remittitur and the standard for that situation is much clearer. An abuse of discretion standard is appropriate where, as here, the trial court refused remittitur. [7]