Opinion ID: 2387298
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Instruction on Loss of David Stills's Earning Capacity

Text: For her eighth point for reversal, Appellant argues that it was error for the trial court to instruct the jury concerning David Stills's claim of loss of earning capacity because there was no proof of such loss admitted during the trial. She asserts that any evidence presented by Appellees on this issue was too speculative to be submitted to the jury for decision. She also argues that the trial court erred in allowing Thomas Mars to give testimony beyond the scope of his statements given in deposition. We disagree. Loss of earnings and loss of earning capacity are two separate elements of damage. Cates v. Brown, 278 Ark. 242, 645 S.W.2d 658 (1983). Damage resulting from loss of earning capacity is the loss of the ability to earn in the future. Id. The impairment of the capacity to earn is the gravamen of the element. Id. Proof of this element does not, however, require the same specificity or detail as does proof of loss of future wages. Id. The reason is that the jury can observe the appearance of the plaintiff, his age, and the nature of the injuries that will impair his capacity to earn. Id. A serious or permanent injury may sustain the submission of the issue of loss of earning capacity to the jury. Gipson v. Garrison, 308 Ark. 344, 824 S.W.2d 829 (1992). This court has consistently held that a party is entitled to a jury instruction when it is a correct statement of the law, and there is some basis in the evidence to support the giving of the instruction. Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 328 Ark. 666, 945 S.W.2d 355; Yocum v. State, 325 Ark. 180, 925 S.W.2d 385 (1996); Parker v. Holder, 315 Ark. 307, 867 S.W.2d 436 (1993). Thus, the relevant inquiry is whether there was some evidence of Stills's loss of earning capacity. We conclude there was. David Stills testified about his law practice at the Fayetteville law firm of Everett and Mars. He stated that before the incident, thirty to forty percent of his practice was domestic-relations work, and that ten to fifteen percent consisted of representing people in criminal cases. He stated that after the incident, he no longer takes criminal cases, because he feels that he could not be compassionate to his clients and that he is generally uncomfortable being around such persons. Likewise, he stated that he no longer does much domestic-relations work because such work requires a lot of client contact on a day-to-day basis, and that, after the incident with Edwards, he does not like being around clients. John Everett testified that he hired Stills as a full-time attorney at his firm right after Stills passed the bar examination. He stated that Stills was a good lawyer, had a grasp for the common problems of common people, and related well to people. He described his practice as mostly trial practice, stating that in such a practice, one has to take divorce and criminal cases. He stated that Stills has had a hard time recovering from the kidnapping, and that Stills is not the lawyer today that he was before March 17, 1995. Everett confirmed Stills's refusal to get involved in criminal and domestic-relations cases and stated that he did not think Stills would ever do that kind of work again. Thomas Mars testified that when he joined Everett's firm in 1993, he was aware of Stills's legal ability. He stated that considering the level of experience he had, Stills was not only the best young lawyer that he had ever worked with, but the best young lawyer that he had known in the community. He stated that before the kidnapping, he had talked to Stills about how he could improve and build his practice by becoming more involved in the commercial cases that Mars typically handled. He stated that in 1995, the firm as a whole did well, due in part to fees resulting from some big cases on which the firm had worked. He added that if Stills had been able to show up and continue working, he would have been able to work on those cases, too. He stated that neither he nor Everett felt comfortable giving Stills cases in 1995, and that he currently does not feel comfortable giving Stills cases like he had in the past. He stated that he can give Stills work under close supervision, wherein he is able to monitor his performance. He stated that after the incident the partners agreed that Stills would receive seven percent of the law firm's fees, while the other three lawyers in the firm received thirty-one percent. He explained: And I would have never viewed David, prior to this incident, as having less than one-fourth of the value of any other partner in the law firm. And so I don't know what percentage I might have assigned to him if I had been voting on that, but for this incident, but I know it would have beenit would have been higher than seven percent. I don't suppose I could guess about what it would have been, but it would have been more than a couple of percentage points higher because I, you know, perceived him as, you know, as having something in the range of, you know, maybe half the value of the rest of the partners. Simply because he had about half the years of experience and half the client base and, you know, half of everything else. But, you know, I thought that the decision to assign David seven percent should be a pretty clear indication to him of our concern about his future with our firm and his performance and I could not, under any stretch of the imagination, characterize it myself as a promotion or recognition of his value. The foregoing testimony provides some evidence of Stills's loss of earning capacity as a result of being kidnapped by a client, Joe Edwards, in March 1995. There was sufficient evidence presented on this issue such that the jurors were not forced to speculate as to any future loss. As such, the trial court did not err in instructing the jury on the issue of loss of earning capacity. Recovery in a claim for loss of earning capacity is to be determined by the application of the common knowledge and experience of the jurors to the facts and circumstances of the case. Gipson, 308 Ark. at 348, 824 S.W.2d at 832 (citing Coleman v. Cathey, 263 Ark. 450, 565 S.W.2d 426 (1978)). Accordingly, we reject Appellant's argument on this point. We further reject Appellant's argument that the trial court erred in allowing Appellees to present Mars's opinion of Stills's damages. The testimony that she takes issue with concerned the amount of money the firm made in 1994 and 1995, particularly that 1995 had been a good year for the firm (making $1,650,000), but that Stills was not able to work on those cases. Appellant asserts that such testimony implies that had Stills worked on those cases, he would have made more money in 1995. Appellant objected to the testimony on the ground that it went beyond that previously testified by Mars in his deposition, and that the trial court had previously ruled that Mars would be limited to his deposition testimony regarding computation of damages. The trial court allowed it on the basis that Appellant had opened the door with her questions of other witnesses on that issue. Appellant did not contest the trial court's ruling that she had opened the door, nor does she on appeal. The record reflects that Appellant cross-examined Stills regarding how much he earned in 1995 and whether he made a $30,000 contingency fee that year. Stills replied that he had not made any fees at all in 1995. We thus cannot say that the trial court abused its discretion in allowing Mars's testimony about the income and fees the firm received in 1995. Appellant's cross-examination of Stills opened the door to that line of questioning. See Willis, 334 Ark. 412, 977 S.W.2d 890. Likewise, we reject Appellant's argument that she was denied timely discovery of Mars's testimony. We will not reverse the trial court's discovery ruling absent an abuse of discretion. Stein v. Lukas, 308 Ark. 74, 823 S.W.2d 832 (1992).