Opinion ID: 1655676
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: whether trial court abused its discretion in awarding plaintiff only $3000.

Text: ¶ 9. DePriest alleges that the trial judge abused his discretion in awarding a mere $3000 in damages, and thus, an additur is more than proper under the facts of this case. In support of this contention, DePriest lists her damages as $7,824.95 in medical bills, a $500 deductible arising from property damage to her automobile, and $406 in lost wages for a total of $8,730.95 in out-of-pocket expenses. In addition, DePriest claims she is due compensation for more than six months of pain and suffering. As such, DePriest feels she is entitled to more than a mere $3000. ¶ 10. In bench trials such as this, a circuit judge is subject to the same standard of review as that of a chancellor. Sweet Home Water & Sewer Ass'n v. Lexington Estates Ltd., 613 So.2d 864, 872 (Miss.1993). Therefore, the circuit judge's decision will not be disturbed as long as substantial, credible, and reasonable evidence exists to support the ruling. Allied Steel Corp. v. Cooper, 607 So.2d 113, 119 (Miss.1992). ¶ 11. First, DePriest incorrectly frames the issue as if the trial judge found that only $3000 was recoverable. In actuality, the trial judge held that DePriest suffered $12,000 in damages. Second, De-Priest's allusions to an absence of compensation for pain and suffering are simply not true. Since the out-of-pocket expenses amount to $8,730.95, that means that the trial judge granted $3,269.05 ($12,000-$8,730.95) in pain and suffering. Finally, DePriest argues that an additur is appropriate in this case since she recovered less than her medical expenses alone. Again, DePriest misreads the holdings of the cases she cites in support of her argument. The cases cited dealt with instances in which entire verdicts included little or nothing for pain and suffering despite the overwhelming weight of the evidence. Maddox v. Muirhead, 738 So.2d 742 (Miss. 1999); Moody v. RPM Pizza Inc., 659 So.2d 877 (Miss.1995); Harvey v. Wall, 649 So.2d 184 (Miss.1995); Rodgers v. Pascagoula Pub. Sch. Dist., 611 So.2d 942 (Miss. 1992); Brown v. Cuccia, 576 So.2d 1265 (Miss.1991); Pham v. Welter, 542 So.2d 884 (Miss.1989). The present case does not present the same problem. In the matter at hand, the trial judge found that more than $3000 in pain and suffering existed, which is far from a level that shocks the conscience. Maddox, 738 So.2d at 744-45. We therefore find that in calculating the total damages, the trial judge did not commit reversible error.