Court Opinion

ID: 9856216
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:41:29.326091+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:29:08.857056
License: Public Domain

Berry, Judge,
dissenting:
I vigorously dissent from the decision of the majority of the Court in this case which affirms the order of the trial court in setting aside the verdict of the jury and awarding the defendant a new trial for the reason that it constitutes a manifest injustice to the plaintiff.
A jury trial of this case was held in the trial court and the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff in the amount of $7,500.00. A motion was made by the defendant immediately following the return of the verdict to set aside the verdict of the jury. Five months later the trial court sustained the motion of the defendant and set aside the verdict of the jury, this action being based solely upon matters presented to the trial court over two months after the trial had been completed and the verdict of the jury returned. The matters consisted of affidavits and photographs tending to contradict the testimony of a witness used by the plaintiff in rebuttal. These affidavits and photographs were not made a part of the record by the defendant below. The trial court gave its reasons in a written opinion, which was made a part of the record by an order of the court, and the reasons in the trial court’s opinion for setting aside the verdict are as follows:
“There is some ambiguity in this testimony and since the argument of counsel for the plaintiff was *190not reported, just how this matter was put to the jury in the argument is not subject to strict ascertainment. The pictures and affidavits indicate that there are no head walls extending above the level of the road to any extent, but I am afraid that the evidence and the concluding argument were urged to the jury to the extent that they were of the opinion that the said head walls did exist above the level of the road, which in effect would have discredited all of the defendant’s evidence in the case.”
The plaintiff’s bill of exception contained all orders and pleadings in the case except the plaintiff’s declaration, the court’s opinion, including the entire transcript of the evidence in the case taken by the court reporter during the trial, exhibits, and instructions given and refused on behalf of both defendant and plaintiff, and all matters which were properly made a part of the record in this case.
The record of the trial of this case indicates that no error was committed during the trial of the case, but the trial court, nevertheless, set aside the verdict, because he was afraid that the evidence of one of the witnesses and the concluding argument by counsel for the plaintiff, which was not reported and he did not remember, may have discredited the defendant’s evidence. The credibility of a witness who testifies in any trial before a jury is solely a matter for jury determination. 20 M. J., Witnesses, §74, page 535; Bank v. Hannaman, 63 W.Va. 358, 60 S.E. 242; Crowl v. Railroad Co., 92 W.Va. 188, 114 S.E. 521; State v. Cirullo, 142 W. Va. 56, 93 S.E.2d 535.
Counsel for the plaintiff could not have obtained his argument to the jury because he did not object to the argument he was making, and it was the duty of the defendant to object to such argument if it was to be relied upon as error to support a motion to set aside the verdict. This was not done and it could not be properly considered by the trial court or by this Court. See Icy Smith, Committee, etc. v. Penn Line Service, Inc., 145 W. Va. 1, 113 S.E.2d 505, and cases cited therein, decided by this Court January 19, 1960.
*191The affidavits and photographs were not made a part of the record, and even if they had been, the record conld not have been made in that manner. See Snodgrass v. NuGrape Co., 113 W.Va. 748, 169 S.E. 406; Woodruff v. Gilliam, 116 W.Va. 101, 179 S. E. 873. The case of Sanders v. Wise, 74 W.Va. 797, 83 S.E. 77, cited in the majority opinion as authority to support the trial court’s action, holds just the opposite for what it is cited. In that case, the trial court set aside a verdict returned by the jury because the court was not sure what occurred during the trial and there was no record furnished by either party with regard to what transpired during the trial. This Court reversed the judgment of the trial court in setting aside the verdict and reinstated the verdict of the jury. The very question involved in this case is clearly answered in the case of Woodruff v. Gilliam, 116 W.Va. 101, 107, 179 S.E. 873, wherein this Court stated:' “In other words, the defendant in error takes the position that in order to reverse the action of the trial court in setting aside the verdict, the plaintiff in error must bring all of the record here that is necessary to show that the verdict was justified upon every ground assigned by the defendant below as reason for setting it aside. We do not believe that that is the law of this state. In the case of Sanders v. Wise, 74 W.Va. 797, 83 S.E. 77, L.R.A. 1915B, 353, the trial court had set aside a verdict in favor of a defendant upon the motion of the plaintiff, and the reason for that action assigned in the order was that the court could not find anything in the record as to what the evidence was before the jury. The transcript of the evidence had become lost. Upon writ of error, this court held that it was reversible error to set aside the verdict upon the ground stated, re-instated the verdict and rendered judgment here.”
In the case of Henderson v. Haslett, 75 W.Va. 255, 262, 83 S.E. 907, it was held that: “The court is not authorized to interfere with the verdict of a jury fairly rendered upon a mere conjecture or belief that injustice may, in its opinion, have been done.”
*192The court’s written opinion was made a part of the record in this case, is before this Court for consideration and we can look to the trial court’s opinion to ascertain the grounds upon which the trial court set the verdict aside. Woodruff v. Gilliam, supra; Westover Fire Dept. v. Barker, 142 W.Va. 404, 95 S.E.2d 807; Gray v. Wright, 142 W.Va. 490, 96 S.E.2d 671. In the Woodruff case, in connection with an opinion of the trial court made a part of the record, this Court stated: “Here, since the opinion of the trial court, having been made a part of the record, operated to point out the specific ground on which the trial court acted in setting aside the verdict, and since it was the privilege of the plaintiff in error to bring to this Court only such parts of the record as would enable us to review the action of the trial court upon the specific ground assigned by it for that action, which we are of opinion he has adequately done, it follows that the motion of the defendant in error to dismiss the writ of error because the record brought here is insufficient must be overruled.” In the Westover case the trial court made its written opinion a part of the record showing the reason for the court’s action. This court held that the action of the trial court, as shown in its written opinion, was error, and set aside the judgment of the trial court for that reason. In the case at bar, we have the written opinion made a part of the record and can clearly see that the' reasons given by the trial court, as stated in its opinion, do not justify the action of the court in setting aside the verdict. That action is palpably erroneous and is contrary to a heretofore unbroken line of decisions of this Court. If a trial court, as here, is permitted to set aside a verdict, which is fully sustained by the evidence, on the basis of facts which were not introduced in evidence, were not made a part of the record, and for those reasons should not have been considered by the trial court, no verdict, however regular or just it may be, can be protected or rendered invulnerable from such erroneous and unwarranted action. This Court has held in Townley Bros. v. Crickenberger, 64 *193W.Va. 379, 63 S.E. 320, that in order that any matter may he considered in an appellate conrt, such matter should be presented by motion and made a part of the record.
Even if all of the affidavits, photographs and arguments before the jury were properly brought before this Court, they do not constitute proper grounds for setting aside the verdict, because such evidence could have been obtained before or during the trial, and even if that had been done, there was nothing to show that such evidence would produce an opposite result. At most, it could have been used merely to discredit or impeach witnesses on the opposite side. Cremeans v. Myers, 136 W.Va. 157, 67 S.E.2d 28; State v. Farley, 143 W.Va. 445, 104 S.E.2d 265, and cases cited therein.
In the ease of Watkins v. B. & O. R.R., 130 W.Va. 268, 43 S.E.2d 219, in connection with a somewhat similar situation, this Court said: “We have stated the facts in this opinion for the purpose of showing that the verdict returned by the jury was sustained by the evidence. On insufficient proof in support thereof, the trial court sustained the motion to set aside the verdict. Having thus deprived defendants of a verdict properly returned, we hold that the defendants are entitled to have the verdict reinstated by this Court, which is accordingly done.”
Though the points of the syllabus contain correct statements of abstract legal principles, such statements are clearly inapplicable to the factual situation concerning the contents of the record in this action. For that reason the legal principles contained in the points of the syllabus do not affect and should not control the decision in this case.
For the cogent reasons stated herein, and in order to conform to the prior decisions of this Court in cases of this kind, I would reverse the judgment of the trial court in setting aside the verdict of the jury and reinstate said verdict.
I am authorized to say that Judge Haymond concurs in the views expressed in this opinion.