Opinion ID: 1272869
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: jury instruction on taxability

Text: SCDOT next asserts the trial court committed error in refusing to instruct the jury that any award it gave would not be subject to income taxes, and that it was not to consider taxes in fixing the amount of an award. It cites for this proposition a 1952 Missouri case, Dempsey v. Thompson, 363 Mo. 339, 251 S.W.2d 42 (1952). Dempsey is not controlling here. We find no South Carolina cases suggesting that a jury instruction on income tax consequences is appropriate. On the contrary, such a charge is prohibited by the collateral source rule. See e.g., New Found. Baptist Church v. Davis, 257 S.C. 443, 186 S.E.2d 247 (1972); Young v. Warr, 252 S.C. 179, 165 S.E.2d 797 (1969) (tortfeasor has no right to any mitigation of damages because of payments or compensation received by the injured person from a source wholly independent of the wrongdoer); 11 S.C. Juris. Damages § 11 (1992); see 22 Am.Jur.2d Damages §§ 570-90, at 641-56 (1988) (tortfeasor cannot take advantage of payments or services rendered by a collateral source for the plaintiff's benefit, irrespective of whether the source is an insurance company, an employer, a family member, or other source). We find no basis upon which to hold such a charge warranted under S.C. law. [2] The trial court committed no error in refusing the requested charge. Moreover, we find no conceivable prejudice here, in light of the size of the verdicts and the fact that the verdicts were reduced in accordance with the Tort Claims Act caps.