Opinion ID: 1572837
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Excessive Damages and Remittiturs

Text: Texas courts of appeal have the power to review excessiveness of damages and to order remittitur in FELA actions and, by implication, in Jones Act cases as well. See Sweet v. Port Terminal R.R., 653 S.W.2d 291, 294-95 (Tex.1983); c.f. Nobles v. Southern Pac. Transp. Co., 731 S.W.2d 697, 699 (Tex. AppHouston [14 th Dist.] 1987, writ ref'd n.r.e.); s ee also Nairn v. National R.R. Passenger Corp., 837 F.2d 565, 566 (2d Cir. 1988). The appellate court must make its own detailed appraisal of the evidence bearing on damages. Nairn, 837 F.2d at 567, (quoting Grunenthal v. Long Island R.R., 393 U.S. 156, 159, 89 S.Ct. 331, 333, 21 L.Ed.2d 309 (1968)). The standard of review for an excessive damages complaint is factual sufficiency of the evidence. See Rose v. Doctors Hosp., 801 S.W.2d 841, 847-48 (Tex.1990); Pope v. Moore, 711 S.W.2d 622, 624 (Tex. 1986). The court of appeals should employ the same test for determining excessive damages as for any factual sufficiency question. See Pope, 711 S.W.2d at 624. When considering a factual sufficiency challenge to a jury's verdict, courts of appeals must consider and weigh all of the evidence, not just that evidence which supports the verdict. See Ortiz v. Jones, 917 S.W.2d 770, 772 (Tex. 1996); Lofton v. Texas Brine Corp., 720 S.W.2d 804, 805 (Tex.1986). A court of appeals can set aside the verdict only if it is so contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence that the verdict is clearly wrong and unjust. See Ortiz, 917 S.W.2d at 772; Cain v. Bain, 709 S.W.2d 175, 176 (Tex.1986). The court of appeals is not a fact finder. Accordingly, the court of appeals may not pass upon the witnesses' credibility or substitute its judgment for that of the jury, even if the evidence would clearly support a different result. See Pool v. Ford Motor Co., 715 S.W.2d 629, 634 (Tex.1986). If the court of appeals determines that the evidence supports the jury's verdict, it is not required to detail all the evidence supporting the judgment when it affirms the trial court's judgment for actual damages. See Ellis County State Bank v. Keever, 888 S.W.2d 790, 794 (Tex.1994). On the other hand, when reversing a trial court's judgment for factual insufficiency, the court of appeals must detail all the evidence relevant to the issue and clearly state why the jury's finding is factually insufficient or so against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence that it is manifestly unjust. See Keever, 888 S.W.2d at 794; Pool, 715 S.W.2d at 635. The court of appeals must explain how the contrary evidence greatly outweighs the evidence supporting the verdict. See Keever, 888 S.W.2d at 794; Pool, 715 S.W.2d at 635. Because the question of whether damages are excessive and that a remittitur is appropriate is a factual determination made final in the court of appeals, this Court lacks jurisdiction to review such findings. TEX. CONST. art. V, § 6; TEX. GOV'T CODE, § 22.225(a); Akin v. Dahl, 661 S.W.2d 917, 921 (Tex.1983); Sweet, 653 S.W.2d at 295.