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James v. Swindell8/23/2000
This appeal arises out of an automobile accident. The Defendant lost control of her vehicle, crossed three lanes of traffic, and hit Plaintiff's vehicle. Plaintiff suffered injuries and sued Defendant for damages. A jury trial ensued. The jury found Defendant to be 100% at fault and awarded $15,000 in damages to Plaintiff. The Plaintiff filed a motion for a new trial alleging juror misconduct and presented a juror's affidavit in support of her position. The Defendant untimely presented counter affidavits by jurors. The trial court judge granted a new trial based on juror misconduct. At the second trial the jury found the Defendant 100% at fault and awarded Plaintiff $27,608.60 in damages. On appeal, the Defendant claims that the trial court erred in failing to grant Defendant's motion for a directed verdict and in granting a new trial. We affirm the trial court's denial of a directed verdict for the Defendant and reverse the trial court's granting of a new trial based on juror misconduct. We remand the case to the trial court for the reinstatement of the jury verdict at the first trial.
Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Circuit Court is Affirmed in Part; Reversed in Part; and Remanded
Houston M. Goddard, P.J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which Herschel P. Franks and Charles D. Susano, Jr., JJ., joined.
OPINION
This cause of action arises out of an automobile accident that occurred on October 3, 1995, on Hixson Pike in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It had been raining heavily shortly before the accident. Plaintiff was driving a vehicle owned by her employer, the Electric Power Board, at the time of the accident. Plaintiff was driving south in the outside lane of a four lane highway. Defendant was traveling north in the outside lane, when she crossed three lanes of traffic and entered Plaintiff's lane of traffic. Defendant barely missed a CARTA bus, which was immediately in front of Plaintiff's vehicle. Defendant struck Plaintiff's vehicle head on, spun, and then hit Plaintiff's vehicle again with the driver's side of Defendant's car.
After the accident, another vehicle traveling the same route as the Defendant's vehicle slid slightly in the same area where the Defendant's vehicle slid, but the vehicle remained in its lane of traffic.
Plaintiff was injured in the accident. She suffered a fractured rib and injuries to her ankle, neck, lower back and hip and underwent surgery in an effort to alleviate her back pain. She continued to have problems at the time of both the first and second trial. Due to her inability to perform her job duties after the accident, she had to change positions with her employer. She had a greater earning potential with her prior job than the new position she took. Her daily activities are limited.
She sued for damages for personal injuries she suffered in the automobile accident.
I. ACTION OF THE TRIAL COURT
The first trial of this case was held on November 12, 1997. At the trial, the Defendant contested both liability and the amount of damages. The jury found that the Defendant was 100% at fault and awarded the Plaintiff compensatory damages of $15,000. The Plaintiff filed a motion for a new trial, or for an additur, based upon, inter alia, juror misconduct in that the defense counsel interjected extraneous matters during the course of the trial. In support of her motion, Plaintiff filed the affidavit of Arthur Hart averring the following:
I, Arthur I. Hart, give this affidavit of my own personal knowledge and hereby affirm as follows:
1. I am over the age of eighteen (18) and competent to testify to all matters her
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