Court Opinion

ID: 9664662
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 00:24:53.373215+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:15:08.393704
License: Public Domain

ABRAMSON, Justice,
Concurring in part and Dissenting in part.
While I agree with the majority’s conclusion that Moore Pontiac had no liability as a matter of law, I disagree with the concept that Morgan should now owe 100% of the damage verdict. In this case the jury was instructed in assessing fault to “consider both the nature of the conduct of *645each party and the extent to which the conduct of each was a factor in causing the injuries complained of.” This language from Instruction No. 8 does not follow the apportionment statute which requires the fact finder to consider “both the nature of the conduct of each party at fault and the extent of the causal relation between the conduct and the damages claimed.” KRS 411.182(2). However, either formulation of the instruction (and certainly the one that tracks the language of the statute is preferable) results in an integrated verdict where the jury is encouraged, indeed directed, to consider how each party’s conduct relates to the injuries or damages. Significantly, KRS 411.182(l)(a) provides that the fact finder shall indicate “the amount of damages each claimant would be entitled to recover if contributcnij fault is disregarded ...” (Emphasis supplied). There is no statutory directive for the jury to disregard comparative fault in assessing damages and, again, subsection (2) quoted above actually directs the jury to consider the interrelationship of damages and each party’s fault.
While in theory damages are determined without regard to who is being held responsible, in fact jurors are often affected by the identity of the defendant(s). Some items of damages, such as medical expenses, may be circumscribed by objective evidence but less well-defined types of damages, such as pain and suffering, are particularly susceptible to variance based on the presence or absence of “deep pockets.” In any given case, leaving the plaintiff with a partial verdict may be unfair to the plaintiff, but granting him the whole verdict reapportioned only against the legally liable parties as discussed by Justice Venters in his majority opinion may be unfair to the remaining defendant(s). In my view, if a party to whom some fault has been apportioned is subsequently found to have no liability as a matter of law, the appropriate course is to remand the case for a new trial on damages only, with the jury directed to determine damages under the aforementioned statutory standards to be recovered from those parties who are in fact legally liable. Thus, I would remand this case for a damages trial as to Timothy Morgan. For this reason, I respectfully concur in part and dissent in part.
CUNNINGHAM, J, joins.