Court Opinion

ID: 9492015
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 14:30:07.077828+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:55:03.969113
License: Public Domain

JOHN R. GIBSON, Circuit Judge,
concurring and dissenting in part.
I concur in Parts I and II of the court’s opinion, and with the holding that there is sufficient evidence to support the jury’s finding of constructive discharge. I dissent from Part III of the court’s opinion and in the remand of this case to the district court for further review of whether the jury’s verdict was against the weight of the evidence. I would reverse entirely and order reinstatement of the judgment based upon the jury verdict.
The district court order granting the alternative new trial, quoted in full in the court’s opinion, did not so much as mention the weight of the evidence. The discussion in Part III of the court’s opinion today simply assumes that this was the ground upon which the district court was relying.
We have long held that when the district court grants a motion for new trial on the ground that the verdict is against the weight of the evidence, it must clearly articulate its reasons for doing so. The district court must carefully balance the evidence presented by each side; only then can it reach an informed determination of whether the verdict would work a miscarriage of justice if left undisturbed. See White v. Pence, 961 F.2d 776, 781-82 (8th Cir.1992); Stafford v. Neurological Medicine, Inc., 811 F.2d 470, 474-75 (8th Cir.1987); Goldsmith v. Diamond Shamrock Corp., 767 F.2d 411, 416 (8th Cir.1985); Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co. v. Aalco Wrecking Co., 466 F.2d 179, 187 (8th Cir.1972) (“When through judicial balancing the trial court determines that the first trial has resulted in a miscarriage of justice, the court may order a new trial, otherwise not.”), cert. denied, 410 U.S. 930, 93 S.Ct. 1371, 35 L.Ed.2d 592 (1973). A careful articulation of the district court’s reasoning is necessary so that we “can exercise a closer degree of scrutiny and supervision ... in order to protect the litigants’ right to a jury trial.” White, 961 F.2d at 781 (quoting Fireman’s Fund, 466 F.2d at 187). The district court, as the trial court, has the sole authority to grant a new trial on the ground that the verdict is against the weight of the evidence. It must exercise that authority with great care, lest it usurp the jury’s rightful function.
The district court’s order granting a new trial does not come close to meeting these standards. The district court failed to state that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence or that the verdict would work a miscarriage of justice if allowed to stand. These are the ultimate findings to be made by the district court in granting such a motion. In addition, the *1162district court performed none of the requisite judicial balancing so as to demonstrate why Rival’s evidence manifestly outweighed Van Steenburgh’s. Such articulation has long been held necessary to support the district court’s conclusion so that this Court can properly review that conclusion, exercising the scrutiny necessary to protect the parties’ right to a jury trial. White, 961 F.2d at 781; Stafford, 811 F.2d at 474. The district court thus failed not only in stating the required conclusions, but also in making any attempt to support them.
Most of the testimony in this case came from Van Steenburgh, although there were other employees of Rival who testified about what they had seen and what Van Steenburgh had told them about Esser’s conduct. Esser was deceased at the time of trial and did not testify. The controversy involved the interaction of two individuals. In this simple case, any conflicts raised by the evidence should have been resolved by the jury. See Stafford, 811 F.2d at 475; Goldsmith, 767 F.2d at 416-17. When “the evidence is such that reasonable men may differ as to the result, ... the determination should properly be left for the jury.” White, 961 F.2d at 781 (quoting Fireman’s Fund, 466 F.2d at 187). When the district court has not adequately justified its decision to grant a new trial, we have on several occasions simply reversed that decision when the record does not permit the conclusion that the jury’s verdict was against the manifest weight of the evidence. See Goldsmith, 767 F.2d at 416-17; Stafford, 811 F.2d at 474-76; Fireman’s Fund, 466 F.2d at 187-88.
The district court granted the new trial without following the procedures that we have mandated for over twenty-five years, failing to state the basis for granting the motion and articulating no analysis or reasons for its ruling. The order and record before us simply provide no basis to remand the case, for to do so would essentially ignore our numerous precedents relating to the standards for granting a new trial on the basis that the verdict is against the weight of the evidence.
I agree that we should reverse the ruling granting judgment as a matter of law, but believe that we should also reverse the grant of a new trial and order that the jury’s verdict be reinstated.