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Daniel v. Indiana Mills & Manufacturing3/19/2003
Opinion Vote: AFFIRMED.
Prewitt, P.J., and Rahmeyer, C.J., concur.
Opinion:
Indiana Mills & Manufacturing, Inc., (defendant) appeals a judgment in a case in which Larry Daniel (plaintiff) prevailed in a products liability claim for personal injuries. Plaintiff was injured when a truck he was driving jackknifed and left the roadway. Plaintiff was ejected from the vehicle. Plaintiff contended his seat belt failed, causing him to be ejected from the vehicle during the course of the accident; that he was injured as a consequence of having been thrown from the vehicle. Defendant is the manufacturer of the seat belt assembly. This court affirms.
Defendant presents five points on appeal. Defendant's first point claims the trial court erred in denying defendant's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The second argues the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on comparative fault of plaintiff. The third asserts trial court error in three evidentiary rulings. The fourth claims trial court error in denying defendant's motion for new trial because of juror misconduct. The fifth contends the trial court erred by failing to grant a request by defendant to allocate proceeds from plaintiff's wife's settlement of her claim against other parties for loss of consortium as an offset against damages plaintiff was awarded in his personal injury claim against defendant.
This court first considers Point IV. Point IV asserts the trial court erred in denying defendant's motion for new trial based on juror misconduct. It alleges one juror "performed his own self-test experiment during the trial to determine whether a seatbelted driver could reach across and open the passenger side door of a vehicle as [plaintiff] allegedly did and discussed his positive findings with the other jurors during deliberations."
Where the decision of a trial court is the subject of the appeal, the point must identify the trial court ruling being challenged. Rule 84.04(d)(1)(A). It must concisely state the legal reasons why it contends the ruling constitutes reversible error. Rule 84.04(d)(1)(B). The point must then explain in summary fashion why, in the context of the case, the legal reasons stated support a claim of reversible error. Rule 84.04(d)(1)(C).
Point IV is not in the form directed by Rule 84.04(d). The point includes a statement that complies with requirements of Rule 84.04(d)(1)(A); it asserts the trial court erred in denying defendant's motion for new trial. It fails, however, to meet requirements of Rule 84.04(d)(1)(B). It does not identify a legal reason why the ruling would constitute reversible error. After stating the ruling it asserts was error, Point IV narrates circumstances relating to the conduct of one of the jurors who served in the case. Because no legal reason is stated for the alleged error, the narration is meaningless. "Without a concise statement of a legal reason for a claim of reversible error, there can be no explanation, in the context of the case, supportive of a claimed error." Hampton v. Davenport, 86 S.W.3d 494, 497 (Mo.App. 2002). Point IV does not meet requirements of Rule 84.04(d). It preserves nothing for appellate review. Tidball v. A.G. Service Center, L.C., 75 S.W.3d 850, 853 (Mo.App. 2002). Nevertheless, this court may exercise its discretion to consider a deficient point if the issue the point intended to raise can be identified and addressed on its merits. Bolz v. Hatfield, 41 S.W.3d 566, 571 (Mo.App. 2001). In this case, plaintiff does not appear to have had difficulty gleaning the basis for the claimed error and in responding to that claim. This court can likewise discern the basis for the claim
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