Opinion ID: 198473
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Grossly Excessive Damage Awards

Text: 43 Kmart's final argument requests a remittitur of the damages awarded to Smith and Orth because the amounts of those awards are so grossly excessive as to constitute a miscarriage of justice. Kmart does not challenge the awards to the conjugal partnership for past and future medical expenses in the combined amount of $41,978.80. Rather, Kmart challenges only the awards to Smith and Orth for damages excluding medical expenses in the amounts of $500,000 and $250,000, respectively. 44 Kmart has apparently dropped its request for a new trial on this ground and argues only that this Court should order a remittitur of both awards. We review the denial of a motion for a remittitur for abuse of discretion. See Anthony, 17 F.3d at 493; McDonald v. Federal Laboratories, Inc., 724 F.2d 243, 246 (1st Cir.1984). We will find an abuse of discretion only if the jury's verdict exceeds any rational appraisal or estimate of the damages that could be based on the evidence before the jury. Milone v. Moceri Family, Inc., 847 F.2d 35, 36 (1st Cir.1988) (quoting Segal v. Gilbert Color Systems, Inc., 746 F.2d 78, 81 (1st Cir.1984)). We have noted that the obstacles which stand in the path of such claims of excessiveness are formidable ones. Wagenmann v. Adams, 829 F.2d 196, 215 (1st Cir.1987). Translating legal damage into money damages is a matter peculiarly within a jury's ken, especially in cases involving intangible, non-economic losses. Id.; see also Correa v. Hospital San Francisco, 69 F.3d 1184, 1197 (1st Cir.1995) (An appellate court's normal disinclination to second-guess a jury's evaluation of the proper amount of damages is magnified where, as here, the damages entail a monetary valuation of intangible losses, and the trial judge, having seen and heard the witnesses at first hand, accepts the jury's appraisal.), cert. denied, 517 U.S. 1136, 116 S.Ct. 1423, 134 L.Ed.2d 547 (1996). Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, the jury's assessment of damages will not be disturbed unless it is grossly excessive, inordinate, shocking to the conscience of the court, or so high that it would be a denial of justice to permit it to stand. Id. (quoting Segal, 746 F.2d at 80-81) (internal quotation marks omitted). 45 The district court instructed the jury that plaintiffs' damages excluding medical expenses were for physical and emotional pain and suffering already suffered or to be suffered in the future. The court defined pain and suffering damages to include any damages for loss of enjoyment of life that he or she is reasonably certain to suffer in the future, taking into account each plaintiff's past interests and way of life. The court then defined damages for enjoyment of life to include damages for loss of consortium, including reduction in sexual relations, affection, comfort, companionship, conjugal life, fellowship, society and/or the assistance that accompanies the marriage relationship. The court then instructed the jury that it could award only those types of damages. As a result, the two awards at issue can only be said to reflect damages for: (1) past and future physical pain and suffering; (2) past and future emotional pain and suffering; and (3) loss of enjoyment of life, including loss of consortium.
46 In light of the deference owed the jury award under this standard, we do not find that the $500,000 award to Smith is so excessive as to warrant a remittitur. The evidence of Smith's physical and emotional pain and suffering is abundant. There was evidence that Smith has been in near-constant pain since the blow to her head, neck and shoulders at approximately 11:00 a.m. on March 4, 1995. Smith stopped breathing and was unconscious for approximately forty seconds. She lost feeling on the left side of her body, causing her to fear paralysis. She was then rushed to the hospital in a cervical collar and given pain medication for a head trauma. Smith then experienced additional pain, numbness, difficulty speaking, and muscle limitations, causing her to visit several other doctors. Smith has been under various medications for pain and inflammation since her first visit to the hospital. Smith has experienced severe depression, anxiety, irritability, restlessness, sleeplessness, and short-term memory loss. Dr. Chinea testified that Smith will suffer from intermittent pain, muscle spasms, and decreased functioning of her cervical muscles for the rest of her life. Dr. Chinea also testified that these symptoms recur and aggravate whenever Smith engages in the simplest of physical activity, and will continue to do so. Smith has been diagnosed with PTSD, exhibiting the symptoms of nightmares, mood changes, major depression, sleeplessness, and impairment of relationships. While Kmart took steps to minimize this physical and emotional pain and suffering before the jury, we must now view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict. Viewed in that light, we note that the record teems with evidence of Smith's past and future pain and suffering. 47 There was also substantial evidence presented regarding Smith's loss of enjoyment of life. Testimony by Smith and her doctors established that Smith was simply unable to engage in many of the physical activities she had enjoyed in the past, including dancing, walking, and taking aerobics classes. Smith testified that she is unable to drive a car or venture out beyond her house due to her fear of additional injury. Smith and Orth testified to the great strain that has been placed on their relationship and to the marked decrease in the amount of socializing with friends. If the jury believed this testimony--which it is entitled to do without judicial second-guessing of its credibility determinations--the jury was faced with a plaintiff who is virtually unable to leave her home, unable to perform any physical activity, and unable to maintain normal social relationships. Such limitations amount to a substantial loss of the opportunity to enjoy life as Smith had prior to the accident. 48 While we agree with Kmart that this award was certainly generous, we do not find it to be grossly excessive or shocking to the conscience, in light of the extensive evidence of the pain and suffering endured and yet to be endured by Smith and the limitations that her condition has placed on her ability to enjoy life. We have upheld awards for pain and suffering and lost enjoyment damages in the range of the damages awarded to Smith. See, e.g., Correa, 69 F.3d at 1198 (upholding: (1) a $200,000 award for the pain and suffering experienced by Carmen Gonzalez Figueroa for the few hours prior to her death, following the negligence of the hospital she appeared at complaining of dizziness and chest pains, and (2) a combined $500,000 award for the pain and suffering of Gonzalez' heirs); Hogan v. Bangor and Aroostook Railroad Co., 61 F.3d 1034, 1037-38 (1st Cir.1995) (upholding $200,000 award for emotional distress, inconvenience, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life in the absence of any physical injury, when defendant refused to allow plaintiff to return to work, causing plaintiff to be depressed and to give up his usual activities); Havinga v. Crowley Towing and Transp. Co., 24 F.3d 1480, 1483 (1st Cir.1994) (upholding several awards for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life ranging from $200,000 to $450,000 when evidence was presented that the plaintiffs suffered severe emotional and psychological injuries which significantly affected the quality of their lives and caused each to avoid activities in which he had previously engaged); Ruiz v. Gonzalez, 929 F.2d 31, 34-35 (1st Cir.1991) (upholding a past and future damages award of $350,000 when there was evidence that plaintiff was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and suffered a permanent partial disability, although a portion of the award could have represented lost future earnings). 49 In Anthony, we found a $566,765 award for pain and suffering to be so grossly disproportionate to the plaintiff's injury as to be unconscionable. See Anthony, 17 F.3d at 494. However, in that case, we based our finding of excessiveness on several factors. First, there was no evidence that the plaintiff's leg injury prevented him from engaging in any particular activities. See id. Second, there was no evidence that the injury otherwise interfered with the plaintiff's professional, recreational, or personal life. See id. Third, the physical injury was not particularly severe or painful and required no major medical treatment. See id. Finally, there was no evidence that the plaintiff's injury was permanent. See id. While each aggravating factor was absent in Anthony, each aggravating factor is present in Smith's case. Thus, our holding in Anthony is of little assistance. 50 Kmart offers a series of damage awards in various state courts ranging from $3,000 to $132,215 for what Kmart terms soft tissue injuries comparable to Smith's injuries. From this, Kmart argues that the award to Smith should be reduced to more closely match those awards. However, even if we could accept Kmart's belittling characterization of Smith's injuries, the existence of smaller damage awards in other jurisdictions, based upon different factual scenarios, does not render the present award grossly excessive. We do not disagree that the present award is generous in comparison to the awards given by Kmart as examples, but we have stated in the past that merely showing that the damage award is generous in comparison to other (hand-picked) cases is insufficient to warrant relief. See Correa, 69 F.3d at 1198 (citing Havinga, 24 F.3d at 1488-89). Thus, Kmart's tour of personal injury cases in courts from California to Maine does not dissuade us from finding that the evidence before the jury was sufficient to support the $500,000 award to Smith for past and future pain and suffering, emotional distress, and lost enjoyment of life.
51 Unfortunately for plaintiffs, the same cannot be said of the $250,000 award to Orth. As a bystander to Smith's injury, Orth has no physical injuries of his own. While this does not preclude Orth from recovering for his emotional pain and suffering and for his lost enjoyment of life, it does preclude him from recovering for a category of injury--past and future physical pain and suffering--that makes up a substantial portion of Smith's award. 52 Additionally, the evidence of Orth's emotional pain and suffering was considerably less than the evidence of Smith's emotional pain and suffering. Since Orth has not seen a psychologist, psychiatrist or therapist for his emotional distress, there was no expert testimony on this issue whatsoever. Orth testified to his horror in watching as Smith was struck by the cooler and lost consciousness. Orth testified that he performed CPR on Smith and thought, at various times, that she was either dead or paralyzed. Orth testified to all of the medical visits on which he accompanied Smith and testified to his constant worry over her condition. He testified that he was emotionally tired, mentally tired, [with] periods of fear. In addition to Orth's testimony, Arlene Fromer (and Patrick Fromer, through a stipulation) testified that the accident really impacted James and that Orth was constantly worried about Smith's condition. This evidence amply demonstrates that Orth witnessed a distressing event and is now often a tired and worried individual, but hardly approaches the emotional pain and suffering required to sustain such a substantial award. 53 Regarding Orth's loss of enjoyment of life, including loss of consortium, the evidence is nearly as limited. Orth testified that Smith performed two to three hours of housekeeping work per day before the accident, but could only manage 45 minutes to an hour of such work after the accident. Orth testified that he was forced to do all of the cooking each night, but that they hired someone to help with the other housework. Orth testified that he no longer has a personal life because he works 18-20 hours per day to compensate for the amount of work that Smith can no longer perform. Orth testified that he and Smith have a strained relationship in that we don't touch, we don't talk, we don't have a physical relationship anymore. Orth testified that, before the accident, they had considered starting a family. The Fromers testified that Orth had to take over many of the household responsibilities that Smith was once able to do. The Fromers also testified that Smith and Orth stopped socializing with them after the accident. This evidence of Orth's loss of enjoyment of life and loss of consortium simply does not rise to a level commensurate with the amount of damages awarded. 54 In short, we find the jury's $250,000 award to Orth for past and future emotional pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium to be grossly excessive, inordinate, shocking to the conscience of the court, [and] so high that it would be a denial of justice to permit it to stand. Correa, 69 F.3d at 1197 (quoting Segal, 746 F.2d at 80-81) (internal quotation marks omitted). Because the jury's verdict in this regard exceeds any rational appraisal or estimate of the damages that could be based on the evidence before the jury, Milone, 847 F.2d at 36, we find that the district court abused its discretion in denying Kmart's motion for a remittitur of Orth's award. Accordingly, we remand this case with instructions to vacate the $250,000 award to Orth for his damages excluding medical expenses and order a new trial on this issue, unless Orth agrees to remit all of that award in excess of $100,000. After carefully reviewing the evidence of Orth's damages that was presented at trial and examining the various types of injuries and damage awards of the cases cited supra at pp. ---- and ----, we conclude that $100,000 represents the upper limit of a rational appraisal of Orth's damages. 5