Opinion ID: 1104104
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Smiths' Cross-appeal

Text: The trial court conditioned its denial of Crown's motion for a new trial upon the Smiths' acceptance of a $1,750,000 remittitur of the jury's compensatory damages award, reducing the compensatory damages award to $250,000. The Smiths agreed to accept the remittitur if Crown did not appeal; when Crown appealed from the judgment, the Smiths cross-appealed from the trial court's order requiring a remittitur. The trial court stated the following in its written order regarding the jury's compensatory damages award: With respect to compensatory damages, plaintiffs suffered no economic loss other than relatively insignificant interest payments and loss of use of money. Plaintiffs claim that they suffered mental anguish over the disruption and uncertainty concerning their insurance program. No doubt they did; but not two million dollars' worth. The court finds this amount to be excessive. Defendant's motion for a new trial will be granted unless plaintiffs accept remittitur [of] the compensatory award in the amount of $1,750,000, leaving a compensatory award of $250,000. The trial court, later in the same order, refused to order a remittitur of the jury's $2,000,000 punitive damages award, after reviewing the award pursuant to Hammond, supra, and Green Oil, supra. The trial court has much discretion in determining whether to grant a new trial and, in that regard, whether to require a remittitur. Fields v. Parker, 361 So.2d 356 (Ala.1978). Given that discretion, the trial court's ruling on a new trial motion is presumed to be correct. Todd v. United Steelworkers of America, 441 So.2d 889 (Ala. 1983); Birmingham Electric Co. v. Thompson, 251 Ala. 465, 37 So.2d 633 (1948). The trial court did not abuse its discretion in ordering a remittitur of the Smiths' compensatory damages award. The record indicates, as the trial court noted, that the Smiths were not seriously damaged financially as a result of Land's conversions. Further, while the Smiths' testimony before the jury certainly revealed their worry over the status of their life insurance policies, the evidence does not support the $2,000,000 compensatory award given by the jury. The presumption of correctness of a jury's verdict may be overcome by a clear showing that the damages award was excessive. Williston v. Ard, 611 So.2d 274 (Ala.1992). This amount, under these facts, was excessive. Although we recognize that there is [no] yardstick to measure the amount of recompense which should be awarded for ... mental suffering, Birmingham Electric Co., 251 Ala. at 466, 37 So.2d at 634, we conclude that an award of $250,000 will sufficiently compensate the Smiths for their mental suffering and that the trial court, therefore, properly conditioned the denial of the new trial upon a remittitur of $1,750,000. The judgment is affirmed. 1930120AFFIRMED. 1930162AFFIRMED. HORNSBY, C.J., and MADDOX, SHORES and STEAGALL, JJ., concur.