 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Velarde v. Illinois Central R.R. Co.11/8/2004
if this case were decided for any reason other than the law and the facts.
Let's not confuse the two cases, a property damage case and a case like this, a case applicable to catastrophic, devastating injuries to Fidel and Francisca, which by necessity under the law have to be large.
I want to talk a little bit about the elements of damages the Judge is going to instruct you on *."
We fail to comprehend defendants' argument regarding the analogy to a Monet painting. We do not see how referring to a skillful painter or expensive artwork could in any way cause jurors to feel "guilt" over injuries they had no hand in causing. Further, because none of the cited cases discuss a "guilt trip" standard, we construe defendants' argument as an assertion that the Monet analogy was, in some way, an appeal to emotion or prejudice. See Gillespie, 135 Ill. 2d at 377, 553 N.E.2d at 298. Nevertheless, we read the quoted remarks as indications that the jurors should rely on the "expert [witness] testi[mony]" regarding the "value" of plaintiffs' losses and award the "full" and "fair" amount justified by "the law and facts" of the case, regardless of whether the jurors "like " or "appreciate " the plaintiffs personally. Accordingly, we do not consider the Monet analogy to be inappropriate or prejudicial. Additionally, it is less than clear what the Velardes' counsel intended to convey by the sentence regarding "a case applicable to catastrophic damages to Fidel and Francisca, which by necessity under the law have to be large." The jumbled statement did not elicit an objection and is potentially only a mistranscription of what was actually said. Even if we construe it as an inaccurate suggestion that the jurors were required by law to return large verdicts for the Velardes, we do not consider it prejudicial. It was only a vague, passing remark, which was not clarified or emphasized by subsequent argument. Furthermore, defendants participated in a jury instruction conference and are not contending that the trial judge followed the closing arguments with erroneous instructions about the applicable law. In addition, before the Velardes' counsel began closing arguments, the trial judge cautioned the jurors, twice, to remember that the attorneys' final arguments were "merely what they think the evidence has shown." In light of all these facts, we reject defendants' assertion that the Velardes' remark about damages warrants a new trial.
We conclude that the Apulellos' and Velardes' closing arguments did not deny defendants a fair trial or result in a deterioration of the judicial process. We also note that trial counsel, who heard the remarks firsthand and was able to observe their impact on the jurors, did not consider them worthy of contemporaneous objection, even through a sidebar, or necessitating a curative instruction.
Affirmed; plaintiffs' motion taken with the case not considered.
GORDON and McNULTY, JJ., concur.
|