Opinion ID: 269979
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: verdict inconsistent and against the evidence

Text: 23 Appellant's fourth and final contention, that the verdict is inconsistent and against the weight of the evidence, is based upon her erroneous assumption that one of the defendants must be held liable. Such a theory may be novel, but it is not the law. Rather, our duty is solely to review the record to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict in favor of each defendant. We need not decide whether a state or federal standard determines the sufficiency of the evidence to support a jury verdict in a diversity case, see Dick v. New York Life Ins. Co., 359 U.S. 437, 444-445, 79 S.Ct. 921, 3 L.Ed.2d 935 (1959); Mercer v. Theriot,377 U.S. 152, 157, 84 S.Ct. 1157, 12 L.Ed.2d 206 (1964), as the jury's verdict here will stand even under the stricter standard. 24 From the evidence, we conclude that the jury could have found that the design of the Marlin rifle was safe so that neither a duty to warn nor a duty to install a new safety mechanism nor a breach of warranty existed on Marlin's part. As to Landers, the jury was justified from the relevant evidence in finding him not negligent when he sold a rifle to an adult even though he might believe that a minor would be its principal user. As to Misciuch, the pertinent evidence reveals both that he took no part in Pavlick's use of the rifle and that he obtained the permission of the boy's mother to purchase the rifle; on this evidence the jury could have absolved him. See Wood v. O'Neil, 90 Conn. 497, 97 A. 753 (1916). With regard to Pavlick, Connecticut law, unlike the law of many jurisdictions, does not require the person handling the gun to establish that the accident was unavoidable before he may be held blameless in cases such as the one at bar. Wood v. O'Neil,supra. Compare Hawksley v. Peace, 38 R.I. 544, 96 A. 856, L.R.A.1916D, 1179 (1916). In the Wood case, a sixteen-year old boy and his parent were sued for damages arising out of an accident in which the boy had killed a young girl with a shotgun given to him by his parents. The Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut affirmed a nonsuit in favor of the defendant parents, finding no evidence that they had placed the gun in the boy's hands with knowledge that the gun was defective or that the boy was a careless user of guns; 3 it also affirmed a jury verdict for the defendant boy, finding that the evidence as to the boy's negligence was conflicting. Here, we are constrained to hold that the jury, on the basis of the proof as to Pavlick's age and lack of experience, had sufficient grounds for finding the shooting accidental and Pavlick not negligent according to the standard of care set for those his age. 25 In short, there is sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict, and there is nothing inconsistent about it. To be sure, the verdict is not a happy one for the plaintiff, but, as recovery in tort is based on fault, it is axiomatic that there will be some injuries which remain uncompensated. 26 Affirmed.