Opinion ID: 420996
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Franchise Termination Verdict Form

Text: 20 Special Issue # 5 sought a determination of the validity of BKC's terminations of Mason's franchise agreements. The jury could find: (a) BKC properly terminated all of the agreements; (b) BKC wrongfully terminated all of the agreements; or (c) BKC properly terminated the franchises listed in column one and wrongfully terminated the franchises listed in column two. The jury circled alternative (c), but after designating some franchise numbers under the properly terminated column, crossed them out and wrote none. The jury specified only twelve of the twenty-seven franchise agreements at issue in the wrongfully terminated column. 4 21 Again, neither party requested that the issue be resubmitted to the jury for clarification. As a result, the jury was discharged without the opportunity to correct these inconsistencies, leaving the district court with the difficult task of interpreting the verdict. In a post trial motion, BKC sought a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, claiming that the evidence established that all of the franchises had been properly cancelled. Alternatively, BKC asked for a new trial on all of the franchise terminations. As expected, Mason took the opposite position, asserting that the verdict correctly found that all of the franchises were wrongfully terminated. The district court rejected all of those contentions, instead ordering a new trial for the restaurants which were not listed in either column. In its order, the court stated that [i]t [was] very uncertain ... whether [the jury] made any determination as to the other restaurants [not listed] ... [and] it would not serve the best interests of justice for the court to attempt to read the jury's mind in an effort to resolve this ambiguity. R. 3136. 22 Mason faults the trial court for its failure to construe these responses as a finding that all of the franchises had been wrongfully terminated. Emphasizing the district court's duty to attempt to reconcile inconsistent special verdicts, Mason claims that the district court was required to so conclude because the jury's answer that none were properly cancelled obviously indicates that the jury decided that all twenty-seven terminations were without legal cause. Mason makes this argument in spite of the fact that the jury did not select that alternative on the verdict form and only identified twelve franchises in that category. 23 As stated before, the district court has authority under Rule 59(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to order a partial new trial. Even though more stringent appellate review is called for when the trial court orders a new trial, the abuse of discretion standard still controls our consideration of the decision. See, e.g., Williams v. City of Valdosta, 689 F.2d 964, 974 (11th Cir.1982); Rabun v. Kimberly-Clark Corp., 678 F.2d 1053 (11th Cir.1982). 24 A trial judge must make all reasonable efforts to reconcile an inconsistent jury verdict and if there is a view of the case which makes the jury's answers consistent, the court must adopt that view and enter judgment accordingly. Griffin v. Matherne, 471 F.2d 911, 915 (5th Cir.1973). See, e.g., Atlantic & Gulf Stevedores, Inc. v. Ellerman Lines, 369 U.S. 355, 364, 82 S.Ct. 780, 786, 7 L.Ed.2d 798, 806-807 (1962); Aquachem Company, Inc. v. Olin Corp., 699 F.2d 516, 521 (11th Cir.1983); Miller v. Royal Netherlands Steamship Co., 508 F.2d 1103, 1106 (5th Cir.1975). The test employed in determining whether a conflict in the verdict can be reconciled is whether the answers may fairly be said to represent a logical and probable decision on the relevant issues as submitted .... Griffin, 471 F.2d at 915. However, if the jury's answers are so ambiguous or conflicting that they cannot be reconciled fairly, the trial court may not enter judgment thereon. Royal Netherlands Steamship Co. v. Strachan Shipping Co., 362 F.2d 691, 694 (5th Cir.1966), cert. denied, 385 U.S. 1004, 87 S.Ct. 708, 17 L.Ed.2d 543 (1967). A special verdict which does not resolve the essential facts, or does so in an inexplicable fashion, will not support a judgment. Prentice v. Zane's Administrator, 49 U.S. (8 HOW.) 470, 484, 12 L.Ed. 1160, 1166 (1850); Hartnett v. Brown & Bigelow, 394 F.2d 438, 441, n. 2 (10th Cir.1968). Moreover, trial judges are not empowered to fill in facts omitted from the answer to a special interrogatory. Guidry v. Kem Manufacturing Co., 598 F.2d 402 (5th Cir.), reh. denied with opinion, 604 F.2d 320, 321 (5th Cir.1979). When an insurmountable inconsistency or ambiguity is perceived, the trial court may resubmit the issue to the jury before it is dismissed or order a new trial on some or all of the issues. Nordmann v. National Hotel Co., 425 F.2d 1103, 1106 (5th Cir.1970). 5 25 Without doubt, the response to special issue # 5 was both inconsistent and ambiguous. If the jury intended to find that all of the franchises had been wrongfully terminated, it could have selected alternative (b)--it did not. Thus, the choice of alternative (c) was inconsistent with its answer that none of the franchises had been properly terminated. More significantly, the answer does not resolve the disposition of over half of the franchises. As the district court observed, it is not clear what the jury found, if anything, with respect to the omitted franchises. The trial court properly declined to supply facts submitted for the jury's determination but left unanswered. Guidry, 598 F.2d 402. Inconsistent or ambiguous verdicts must be reconciled only if that can be accomplished from a fair reading of the verdict. Griffin, 471 F.2d at 915. Faced with this incompatible answer, we have no criticism of the district court's exercise of its discretion in this instance.