Opinion ID: 510022
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: denial of judgment n.o.v.

Text: 13 Rule 50(b) prohibits an appellate court from directing a verdict in favor of a party who fails to move for judgment n.o.v. following trial. Jones v. Reliance Ins. Co., 607 F.2d 1 (D.C.Cir.1979). Because a district court may not consider untimely motions for judgment n.o.v., Mickey v. Tremco Mfg. Co., 226 F.2d 956, 957 (7th Cir.1955), we cannot act on defendants' motion. 14 Defendants argue that we nevertheless have the authority, under Thompson v. INS, 375 U.S. 384, 84 S.Ct. 397, 11 L.Ed.2d 404 (1964), to grant their request because of the unique circumstances of their case. In Thompson, the Supreme Court allowed an appeal to lie because of the unique circumstances of the appellant's deferral of the filing of his appeal in reliance on the district court's assurances that his post-trial motions were timely when, in fact, they were not. In this case, defendants claim a similar reliance on the district court's erroneous grant of additional time for the filing of post-trial motions. Therefore, they say, their delay in filing their motion for judgment n.o.v. should be excused. 15 Even assuming the unique circumstances doctrine remains valid and is applicable to this case, cf. discussion in Houston v. Lack, --- U.S. ----, 108 S.Ct. 2379, 2388, 101 L.Ed.2d 245 (1988) (Scalia, J., dissenting); Browder v. Director, Dep't of Corrections of Ill., 434 U.S. 257, 98 S.Ct. 556, 54 L.Ed.2d 556 (1978), we would decline to apply it. As the decision to award a judgment n.o.v. lies within the province of the trial judge, we are reluctant to intrude into an area of judicial discretion that is generally exercised by that court. But more particularly, in Thompson, the doctrine was applied to save an appeal that would otherwise have been set aside. Here the appeal is not in jeopardy.