Opinion ID: 426017
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Review of a Jury Verdict

Text: 7 Under Indiana law, 2 the jury is the trier of fact and is vested with the responsibility of evaluating the evidence presented and assessing the credence of witnesses who testify. State Highway Commission v. Jones, 173 Ind.App. 243, 363 N.E.2d 1018 (1977). Because great deference is accorded to the jury's judgment in this circuit, it is well settled that a jury verdict will not be set aside if a reasonable basis exists in the record to support that verdict. Lenard v. Argento, 699 F.2d 874 (7th Cir.1983). We are satisfied that a reasonable basis exists in the record here to support the jury verdict. 8 In the present case, G.E. asserts that there was insufficient evidence from which the jury could draw a reasonable inference that the suspect ballast caused the fire. G.E. maintains that Spesco failed to establish that there was a defect in the ballast's insulation and that this defect was the proximate cause of the fire. Moreover, G.E. urges that the district court erred by not granting its motion for a directed verdict. 9 The record clearly reveals that both parties offered expert testimony to the jury addressing whether the suspect G.E. ballast contained proper insulation. Spesco's expert testified that the suspect ballast and its companion ballasts retrieved from the fire did not contain insulating thermal protectors. In contradiction, G.E. proffered evidence indicating that the ballasts at issue incorporated heat sensing devices. 10 As this court determined in Lenard v. Argento, supra, 699 F.2d at 882, questions involving the weight of the evidence are within the purview of the jury despite a clear conflict of testimony. Because such a conflict is present here, the jury was in the best position to determine that the G.E. ballast, purchased and used by Spesco, did not contain a thermal protector or heat sensing device. Accordingly, this court will not substitute its judgment for that of the jury. 11 G.E. also argues that Spesco failed to establish that the defect in insulation, if such a defect existed, was the proximate cause of the fire. In so arguing, G.E. asserts that Spesco's experts failed to refute G.E.'s own experts' testimony about the origin of the fire. Moreover, G.E. suggests that we reject Spesco's evidence about the origin of the fire as contrary to scientific principles under the physical facts rule. We disagree. 12 In Indiana, the physical facts rule holds that where a court cannot say as a matter of law that the testimony of a witness is contrary to scientific principles, the law of nature or the physical facts, the question of whether such testimony does so conflict is a question for the jury to determine. Connor v. Jones, 115 Ind.App. 660, 59 N.E.2d 577, 581 (1945). See also Zollman v. Symington Wayne Corp., 438 F.2d 28 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 404 U.S. 827, 92 S.Ct. 59, 30 L.Ed.2d 55 (1971). In the case before this court, G.E. failed to establish that the testimony offered by Spesco's experts about the origin of the fire is factually or physically impossible. In our view, this case presents a typical example of opposing experts offering conflicting views to the jury about the laws of science as relevant to causation of the fire. It is within the province of the jury to determine which of two contradictory expert statements is deserving of credit. Riggs v. Penn Central Railroad Co., 442 F.2d 105 (7th Cir.1971). Here, the jury properly rejected application of the physical facts rule and accepted Spesco's version about the proximate cause of the fire. 13 Finally, G.E. contends that the district court abused its discretion in denying G.E.'s motion for a directed verdict at the close of Spesco's case in chief and at the close of all of the evidence. This argument is without merit. Under Indiana law, our review of the denial of a motion for a directed verdict is very limited. Dibortolo v. Metropolitan School District of Washington, 440 N.E.2d 506, 509 (Ind.App.1982). Specifically, Dibortolo requires that: 14 The evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and if there is any evidence of probative value or reasonable inference therefrom which supports the plaintiff's claim, or if the evidence conflicts such that reasonable minds might draw differing conclusions, judgment on the evidence is inappropriate. Only where the evidence is without conflict and susceptible to one inference in favor of the moving party should judgment on the evidence be rendered. 15 Id. at 508. 16 It is obvious from our examination of the record and briefs in this case that contradictory evidence was presented to the jury with respect to the origin of the fire. Spesco asserts that the fire resulted from a ballast that overheated. G.E. urges that the fire originated over sixty feet away from where the suspect ballast was retrieved. Because reasonable minds could easily differ in light of the conflicting expert testimony, judgment on the evidence would have been inappropriate in this case. The district court did not abuse its discretion by denying G.E.'s motion for a directed verdict.