Remittitur Defined
Brien Roche
Remittitur Defined by Injury Attorney
Remittitur is a concept that allows a Judge to reduce a verdict. If the Judge finds that the verdict is shocking to the conscience and/or not supported by the evidence some of the verdict may be remitted. Remittitur is most often seen in regards to personal injury trials. Fairfax personal injury attorney Brien Roche has more information on this site dealing with related issues.
Shocking
The concept of a verdict amount being shocking to the conscience is somewhat vague. The case law does not define what the word shocking means. Likewise it does not define what type of conscience one must have in order to be shocked.
Bases Must Be Set Forth
In one case reported by the Virginia Supreme Court a $5 million verdict was found not to be excessive. Furthermore the Court ruled that the Trial Court acted improperly in granting remittitur. The Supreme Court found that the the Trial Court had not set forth enough bases in the record to support reducing the jury verdict. Therefore the jury verdict was reinstated. Call, or contact us for a free consult.
The general rule in Virginia, as is true in most states, is that a jury verdict is to be upheld. However an exception is where there is no factual basis to support it. If a jury simply goes wild then the trial court can reduce the verdict. A verdict may be excessive if it does not bear some relationship to the evidence. The Trial Court always retains the authority to reduce a verdict to an amount that is within the realm of reason. Also the court can set aside the verdict in its entirety and order a new trial.See Va Code 8.01-383.1 as to remittitur and additur. In Bowers v Sprouse 254 Va 428 the court held that a jury award in the exact amount of specials is inadequate as a matter of law even if the specials were contested.
Seldom Used
Remittitur is seldom used by trial judges. Courts prefer that the jury have the final word on how much to award. In other words the jury speaks for the community. Its statement in the form of a verdict should not be upset without good cause.
Call, or contact us for a free consult. Also for more information on related topics see the other pages on this site authored by injury attorney Brien Roche. In addition see the pages on Wikipedia.