Opinion ID: 1059162
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Special Verdicts on the Individual Claims

Text: The trial court conducted a plea in bar hearing from September 17-28, 2001, at the conclusion of which forty-six claims relating to time extensions were submitted to the jury. The jury recorded its verdict on a special verdict form and found that the Joint Venture was prohibited from pursuing seventeen of its claims because it had either not complied with the requirements for submitting claims under the Contract or had failed to file suit within six months. The jury found that twenty-nine of the Joint Venture's claims were not procedurally or time barred. UOSA filed motions to strike and a motion notwithstanding the verdict challenging the jury's findings. The trial court denied those motions and entered an order confirming the jury's verdict. UOSA assigns error to the denial of its motions to strike and motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Specifically, UOSA asserts the trial court erred in: (1) denying its motion to strike and motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict with respect to Work Orders 12, 30, 39, 41, 64, 70, 71, 76, 106, 152, Claim 18, and PCO 115 because the evidence showed the Joint Venture failed to file appeals of these claims within six months as required; (2) denying its motion to strike and motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict with respect to Work Orders 113 and 175 because the Joint Venture expressly waived these claims by signing a change order; (3) denying its motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict with respect to Work Orders 88, 106, 127, 193, and Claim 252 for lack of evidence that the Joint Venture timely submitted a time impact analysis as required; and (4) denying its motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict with respect to Claims 240 and 280 for lack of evidence that the Joint Venture submitted a timely notice of claim as required. Under familiar principles of appellate review, we review the evidence and all reasonable inferences flowing therefrom in a light most favorable to the Joint Venture, which prevailed in the trial court on the claims UOSA now contests. WJLA-TV v. Levin, 264 Va. 140, 146, 564 S.E.2d 383, 386 (2002) (citing RF & P Railroad v. Metropolitan Wash. Airports Auth., 251 Va. 201, 208, 468 S.E.2d 90, 94 (1996)). We will uphold the judgment of the trial court unless it appears from the evidence that the judgment is plainly wrong or without evidence to support it. [6] Code § 8.01-680; Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. St. John, 259 Va. 71, 76, 524 S.E.2d 649, 651 (2000) (citing RF & P Corporation v. Little, 247 Va. 309, 319, 440 S.E.2d 908, 915 (1994)). During the plea in bar trial the jury was asked to decide whether the Joint Venture appealed certain claims within six months, waived certain claims, submitted time impact analyses for certain claims, and timely submitted a notice of claim for other claims. The jury determined the Joint Venture complied with the Contract's requirements in each of the claims now before us on appeal. The jury's verdicts, in all but one instance, find evidentiary support in the record and cannot be said to be plainly wrong. [7] UOSA's proposed verdict form for Work Orders 12, 30, 39, 41, 64, 70, 71, 76, 106, 152, Claim 18, and PCO 115 asked the jury to decide whether the Joint Venture filed suit within six months of UOSA's written decision on this claim challenging such decision. (Emphasis added). The verdict form submitted to the jury substituted the word final for the word written but otherwise mirrored UOSA's proposed language. The record reflects that the jury had sufficient evidence before it to determine when the Joint Venture's claims began to accrue for purposes of calculating the six-month period. The jury's findings on these issues cannot be said to be plainly wrong or without evidentiary support. Accordingly, we will affirm the trial court's denial of UOSA's motion to strike and motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict for Work Orders 12, 30, 39, 41, 64, 70, 71, 76, 106, 152, Claim 18, and PCO 115. UOSA's proposed verdict form with respect to Work Orders 113 and 175 was adopted verbatim by the trial court. In both instances the jury found that the Joint Venture did not waive any claim by signing Change Order 79. Given the evidence in the record these findings cannot be said to be plainly wrong. As such, we will affirm the trial court's denial of UOSA's motion to strike and motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict for Work Orders 113 and 175. The jury was asked to decide, with respect to Work Orders 88, 106, 127, 193 and Claim 252, whether the Joint Venture timely submitted a time impact analysis as required by the Contract. The trial court adopted wholesale UOSA's proposed instructions. In each instance, the jury found that the Joint Venture timely submitted a time impact analysis. The evidence in the record supports the jury's finding as to Work Orders 88, 106, 193 and Claim 252 which are thus not plainly wrong. However, the verdict on Work Order 127 is without support in the record. Work Order 127 was issued on August 16, 1999. The only evidence in the record as to a time impact analysis from the Joint Venture is dated October 3, 2001, obviously long past the Contract's seven day filing requirement. During oral argument before this Court the Joint Venture referenced a document that would support the jury's finding with respect to Work Order 127. However, the Joint Venture has since acknowledged this document does not appear in the record and cannot be relied upon for purposes of appeal. Accordingly, there was no evidence to support the jury's finding that the Joint Venture timely submitted a time impact analysis regarding Work Order 127. The jury's verdict was therefore plainly wrong. We will affirm the trial court's denial of UOSA's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict for Work Orders 88, 106, 193 and Claim 252, but will reverse the trial court with respect to Work Order 127. Finally, with respect to Claims 240 and 280, the jury found that the Joint Venture timely filed a notice of claim. The jury's decision is supported by the evidence in the record and cannot be said to be plainly wrong. We will affirm the trial court's denial of UOSA's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict for Claims 240 and 280.