Court Opinion

ID: 9545457
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 17:12:53.722193+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:14:50.532323
License: Public Domain

Abbott, J.,
concurring: I agree that Traylor v. Wachter, 227 Kan. 221, 607 P.2d 1094 (1980), requires this court to order the trial court to reinstate the jury verdict. Such a result, however, has the potential of being a gross miscarriage of justice in that it could result in a financial loss to the plaintiff unless the Internal Revenue Service is willing to take a more reasonable position than do the Kansas appellate courts. By not allowing the clerical error to be corrected, $400,000 of the verdict may be subject to federal estate and state inheritance taxes.
I am convinced that the better rule is to allow a purely clerical error in a jury verdict such as appears in this case to be corrected *542pursuant to K.S.A. 60-260(a). Such a result would have no effect on the defendant in this case. The defendant does not contend that a clerical error was not made, nor does defendant contest the amount awarded to plaintiff. Indeed, defendant’s only argument is that the clerical error is an indication of confusion on the part of the jury. Defendant will be required to pay the same amount.to the same party, but the judicial system will inflict on the widow economic harm that was not intended by the jury or by inheritance tax laws. Despite Traylor v. Wachter, it is my opinion that the legislature intended an error such as we have before us to be correctable pursuant to K.S.A. 60-260(a).
I also concur that the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in refusing to allow the defendant to call the jurors in an effort to show misconduct on their part. I base my opinion on the fact that counsel for the defendant stated the jurors “may” have considered improper elements. I am unable to find a positive statement in the record that misconduct did, in fact, occur; thus, I agree that the trial judge properly refused to allow the jurors to be called in the absence of an affidavit or oral assurance of counsel that such misconduct did, in fact, occur.