Opinion ID: 1711177
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Purpose of Granting New Trial Because the Verdict is Contrary to the Manifest Weight of the Evidence

Text: Prior to this Court's decision in Cloud, Florida appellate courts applied two doctrines when reviewing an order for a new trial based on the verdict being contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence. The first was the substantial, competent evidence doctrine. Under this doctrine, trial judges were directed to grant a motion for a new trial only when the verdict was not supported by substantial, competent evidence. Appellate courts would review the record and reverse the order if, in their view, there was substantial, competent evidence in support of the jury's verdict. The second was the broad discretion doctrine. Under this doctrine, the trial judge was credited with having a superior vantage point at trial and given the responsibility of determining if the verdict was unjust. Consequently, the trial judge was given broad discretion to grant a new trial if he or she concluded that the verdict was contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence. In Cloud, this Court resolved the conflict by approving the broad discretion doctrine and rejecting the substantial, competent evidence doctrine. The trial judge's discretionary power to grant a new trial on the grounds that the verdict is contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence is the only check against a jury that has reached an unjust decision on the facts. This discretionary power emanates from the common law principle that it is the duty of the trial judge to prevent what he or she considers to be a miscarriage of justice. See Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co. v. Yeatts, 122 F.2d 350 (4th Cir.1941). The role of the trial judge is not to substitute his or her own verdict for that of the jury, but to avoid what, in the judge's trained and experienced judgment, is an unjust verdict. Thus, the trial judge does not have broad discretion to enter a judgment for a litigant or to deny a litigant a jury trial. As our cases illustrate, this discretionary authority of a trial judge to order a new trial when the verdict is contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence has been applied to the benefit of both plaintiffs and defendants who have been victimized by unjust verdicts.