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72 Cal. 178

Bennett v. Hobro

California Supreme Court

Decided March 25, 1887

California Supreme Court · decided 1887-03-25

<p>New Trial — Action to Recover tor Personal Injuries — Inadequacy of Verdict — Specification of Error. —In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the plaintiff in whose favor 'the verdict is rendered, may move for a new trial upon the ground that the verdict, being too small, is not sustained by the evidence; and a specification of error in the statement to the effect that it appears from the evidence that the injuries of the plaintiff were very serious, and that the sum found by the jury was unreasonable and grossly inadequate, is a sufficient specification.</p> <p>Id.—Discretion of Trial Court—Verdict Contrary to Evidence.— The lower court has discretion to grant a new trial when it is of opinion that the verdict is contrary to the weight of evidence; and the Supreme Court-will not interfere with its discretion in so doing, except in extreme cases, or where it is apparent that the lower court has proceeded upon an erroneous hypothesis.</p>

Relies on Bauder v. Tyrrel · Irving v. Cunningham · DuBrutz v. Jessup

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1887-03-25

How this case has been cited

Cited by 11 later decisions — most recently January 1936

9 state decisions

50188718901900191019201930decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Searls, C.

¶1This is an action to recover damages laid ¡at 'tenvthousand dollars, for injuries sustained by plaintiff, by falling .through a trap-door in a building of one E. J. •Bennett, alleged to have been carelessly and negligently left open by the servants and employees of said defendant,

¶2The cause was tried by a jury, and a verdict rendered •in favor of plaintiff for two hundred dollars, upon which judgment was entered.

¶3In due time plaintiff moved for a new trial upon the grounds of,—“1. Insufficiency of the evidence to justify the verdict; 2. That said verdict is against law and against the evidence.”

¶4*179The motion was granted, and defendant appeals from the order of the court thus awarding a new trial.

¶5Among the specifications of error in the statement is one to the effect that it appears from the evidence that the injuries of plaintiff were very serious, and that the sum paid [found] by the jury of two hundred dollars was unreasonably and grossly inadequate.

¶6In Dubrutz v. Jessup, 54 Cal. 118, it was held that where a party against whom a verdict was rendered depended upon the circumstance that the verdict was too large or too small, he might rely upon the ground that the verdict was not sustained by the evidence, the specification being that “the said verdict in respect to the said damages is not sustained by the evidence, and is contrary to the law and the evidence,” and this was held a sufficient specification.

¶7Beference to the evidence on this point shows that it tended to prove the injuries sustained by the plaintiff to have been very severe, resulting in her long confinement, with a reasonable apprehension that they may permanently disable her.

¶8Under such circumstances, the court may well have concluded that the sum awarded her was insignificant in proportion to the injuries received.

¶9It is within the province of the Superior Court to grant a new trial where it is of opinion the verdict is contrary to the weight of evidence. (Bauder v. Tyrrel, 59 Cal. 99; Irving v. Cunningham, 58 Cal. 306.) And this court will not interfere with its discretion in so doing, except in extreme cases, or except in cases where it is apparent the court below has proceeded upon an erroneous hypothesis.

¶10We are of opinion the order appealed from should be affirmed.

¶11Foote, G., and Belcher, C. C., concurred.

The Court.

¶12For the reasons given in the foregoing opinion, the order is affirmed.

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