Court Opinion

ID: 9653301
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 17:43:21.456407+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:12:57.650093
License: Public Domain

George Rose Smith, J., concurring. This case, involving an appeal by the plaintiff after a verdict for the defendant, is not really one calling for an application of the substantial evidence rule. That rule is properly used as a test only for the plaintiff’s evidence, either upon an appeal by the defendant after a verdict for the plaintiff or upon an appeal by the plaintiff after the trial judge has directed a verdict for the defendant. The rule is applicable to the defendant’s evidence only in those instances in which by his pleading he assumes the burden of proof and thus in effect becomes the plaintiff. Of#course the reason for this difference is that the plaintiff alone has what Wigmore aptly describes as ‘ ‘ the risk of non-persuasion.” Wigmore, Evidence, § 2487. The plaintiff must introduce substantial evidence to establish his cause of action, else he is not entitled to have the matter submitted to the jury. But no similar burden rests upon the defendant. Unlike the plaintiff, the de-fendant is free to offer no evidence at all, and there is still a question for the jury except in those rare cases in which the plaintiff’s proof involves no question of credibility and so overwhelmingly establishes his cause of action that no fairminded man could fail to be persuaded by it — in short, when the proof is so conclusive that the court would be justified in directing a verdict for the plaintiff. There is much support for the premise that it is never proper for the trial judge to direct a verdict for the plaintiff in a case like this one, involving an issue of negligence, since the standard of conduct to be expected of a reasonably prudent man is peculiarly a matter for the jury. But even if we accept the view that the trial judge can sometimes direct such a verdict without encroaching upon the jury’s province, this is plainly not a case of that kind. The plaintiff’s version of the accident depends solely upon her own testimony, which presents an issue of credibility for the jury. The defendant was not required to offer any proof whatever, much less any substantial evidence; the plaintiff’s testimony itself presented a jury question. The majority, in their search for substantial evidence, overlook the fact that this court ordinarily reviews the rulings of the trial court rather than the conclusions of the jury. Whenever the substantial evidence rule comes into play the reversible error lies in the trial court’s action in submitting or refusing to submit the case to the jury. In the case at bar the trial judge allowed the case to go to the jury, which found for the defendant. Thus to prevail upon this appeal the plaintiff must show that the court was wrong in submitting the issues to the jury —in other words, that the court should have directed a verdict for the plaintiff. It is only necessary to state the facts in order to show that such a contention is without merit. I write this concurring opinion only because it seems to me that the majority opinion tends to obscure what is really a basic principle in the appellate review of jury trials.