Court Opinion

ID: 9729322
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 14:32:00.169348+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:36:04.335756
License: Public Domain

*428ZAPPALA, Justice,
concurring.
I concur in the result reached by the majority because the trial judge may review both the liability and damage verdicts in a bifurcated proceeding under Pa.R.C.P. 227.1 in one post-trial motion. Such determination then may be reversed only if the trial judge has abused his discretion. Thompson v. City of Philadelphia, 507 Pa. 592, 493 A.2d 669, (1985). However, I am compelled to write separately to emphasize that a liability verdict in a bifurcated trial does determine the cause of the plaintiffs injuries and is only reviewable by way of post-trial relief. To the extent that the majority holds that the jury’s determination on liability makes no final determination “... as to the rights and liabilities between the parties ...” (Maj.Op. p. 421), I cannot agree.