Opinion ID: 727991
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: jury verdict & final judgment

Text: 99 CMM also seeks reversal of the jury verdict and the district court's final judgment. Although it does not explicitly state why it seeks this relief, we interpret CMM to be essentially arguing on appeal what it argued in its post-judgment motion for a judgment as a matter of law under Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(a) and (b): that there was no legally sufficient basis for a reasonable jury to find that there was no copying of the text, layout and/or design of CMM's brochures. We decline to consider this sufficiency of the evidence argument, finding that it has been waived. 100 CMM's implicit, if not explicit, contention on appeal that it deserved a verdict as a matter of law on the issue of copying is deemed waived by CMM's failure to move on this ground for a directed verdict under Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(a). While CMM did move for judgment under Rule 50(a) at both the close of its case and that of WPOR, which were renewed by its post-judgment motion as a matter of law, CMM did not base its motions on the argument that there was no triable issue of copying or independent creation by WPOR: The only ground specified by CMM in its motions was the originality of its brochures, with respect to which the jury found in CMM's favor when it returned a verdict that CMM owned a valid copyright in the four brochures considered by the jury. CMM's failure to properly preserve its sufficiency of the evidence challenge to the jury's verdict that WPOR did not copy any original elements of CMM's copyrighted brochures forecloses review in this court. See Wells, 850 F.2d at 810 ([a]ppellate review may be obtained only on the specific ground stated in the motion for directed verdict); Pstragowski v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 553 F.2d 1, 3 (1st Cir.1977) (It is, of course, established that the sufficiency of the evidence is not reviewable on appeal unless a motion for a directed verdict was made in the trial court.... A corollary to this rule is that a party who moved for a directed verdict may obtain appellate review only on the specific ground stated in the motion.).