Court Opinion

ID: 9696626
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 18:53:12.891943+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:20:24.445477
License: Public Domain

*597Wilkie, J.
(dissenting). I.agree with the majority in its affirmance of the lower court’s determination that the jury verdict was excessive. I do not agree with the majority in its affirmance of the lower court’s option afforded to the plaintiff under the Powers rule. In my opinion the amount of the option ($6,660) is not a reasonable sum considering all of the evidence for an award to the plaintiff for his damages. It is below the range of reasonably debatable amounts for a jury award under the facts of the case, viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. I would raise the amount of the option, holding first that the trial court abused his discretion in setting the amount of the option, and second that $10,660 as the total amount of the award, subject to the apportionment of plaintiff’s negligence, would be reasonable.
I realize that since the Powers rule was adopted our court has not raised the amount of an option as determined by the lower court. We have reinstated the jury verdict in several cases,1 but I would not do so here since the jury award is ■ excessive. If the purpose of the Powers rule is to be furthered, i.e., elimination of unnecessary retrials,2 I see no reason why this court should not, in an unusual but proper case such as this, raise the amount of the option to a reasonable figure where the amount set by the lower court is not within the range of reasonably debatable amounts and is, therefore, unreasonable.

 Makowski v. Ehlenbach (1960), 11 Wis. (2d) 38, 103 N. W. (2d) 907; DeLong v. Sagstetter (1962), 16 Wis. (2d) 390, 114 N. W. (2d) 788; O’Brien v. State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co. (1962), 17 Wis. (2d) 551, 117 N. W. (2d) 654.

 “We have found the Powers rule to he a valuable tool, both in this court and in trial courts, to avoid unnecessary retrials.” Spleas v. Milwaukee & S. T. Corp. (1963), 21 Wis. (2d) 635, 646, 124 N. W. (2d) 593.