Opinion ID: 1241105
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Failure to give Requested Instruction with Respect to Income Tax.

Text: The appellants request that this court review the trial court's refusal to give the following requested instruction: You are further instructed that in determining the amount of damages for personal injuries you are not to add to or include in the award of damages anything to compensate the plaintiff for federal or state income taxes, since any damages recovered as an award for personal injuries are not subject to and therefore are free of either federal or state income taxes. We had a similar issue before us in the recent case of Hardware Mut. Casualty Co. v. Harry Crow & Son, Inc., ante, p. 396, 94 N. W. (2d) 577. We held that it was not prejudicial error not to give the instruction on income tax there requested. We reach the same conclusion here, as we cannot hold that the failure to give such an instruction resulted in prejudice to the appellants. This same conclusion was expressed in Atherley v. MacDonald, Young & Nelson (1956), 142 Cal. App. (2d) 575, 298 Pac. (2d) 700, 709, which decision implies that such instruction if given would  be proper. For reasons pointed out in the Hardware Mut. Casualty Co. Case, supra, if the instruction is given, it should state not only that the jury is to add nothing to the award of damages because of nonliability for income tax but also that nothing is to be deducted from the award because of such factor. In passing it might be noted that 2 Harper and James, Law of Torts, pp. 1327, 1328, sec. 25.12, favors the giving of an instruction with respect to income tax.