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Brunet v. Avondale Industries12/5/2000
requiring a jury to return a special written finding on each issue of fact requires adequate jury interrogatories which fairly and reasonably point out the issues and which guide the jury in reaching a verdict. If the trial court submits a verdict form to the jury with misleading or confusing interrogatories, such interrogatories do not adequately set forth the issues to be decided by the jury and may constitute reversible error.
A finding of fault against a person not a party to the action is not binding on that person, and the plaintiff cannot recover against that person nor can the defendants obtain contribution from that person. Because of these considerations, juries should not be required to quantify the fault of a person that no party sees fit to join in the suit as a defendant or a third party defendant unless there is a compelling reason, such as in the case of a settling tortfeasor.
In the present case, the cross claims of Avondale against the third party product manufacturers and the third party manufacturer officers have been severed from the trial. Neither the parties nor their representatives were present at the trial of the merits. While they have been joined in the trial as third party defendants, their severance from the trial makes them similar to a nonparty in principal. Unless Brunet has settled his lung cancer claim with any of these product manufacturer parties, the trial court erred in allowing the jury to apportion fault due to their alleged negligence.
Jury Interrogatory No. 9 was improper and the trial court erred by allowing it to be submitted to the jury. The alleged fault of the third party manufacturers and manufacturer officers is an issue that will be raised at the trial on the merits of Avondale's cross claim. Brunet has not filed suit against any of these parties, and absent a settlement with any of them, their fault cannot be used to reduce his recovery against Avondale.
In assignments of error six through thirteen, Brunet alleges that the jury erred in its response to Jury Interrogatory No. 9, in that no reasonable finder of fact could determine from the evidence that Garlock, Inc., Uniroyal Inc., Pittsburgh-Corning Corp., Johns Manville Corp., Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corp., Owens-Illinois, Inc., Dr. John Konzen or Richard F. Shannon are liable for his injuries. Eighteen manufacturers and manufacturer officers were listed under Jury Interrogatory No. 9 and the jury found the above eight parties to be liable.
If the trial court or jury's findings are reasonable in light of the record reviewed in its entirety, the court of appeal may not reverse, even though convinced that had it been sitting as the trier of fact, it would have weighed the evidence differently. Where there are two permissible views of the evidence, the factfinder's choice between them cannot be manifestly erroneous or clearly wrong.
The jury found the six product manufacturers and the two manufacturer officers liable to Brunet under the theory of negligence. This judgment was in error. The liability of the third party product manufacturers and manufacturer officers was not at issue in this trial. As Avondale's claims against them had been severed from the main demand, only Avondale's and its officers' potential liability to Brunet was at issue. As noted in Cavalier v. Cain's Hydrostatic Testing, Inc., supra, a finding of fault against a person not a party to the action is not binding on that person. The product manufacturers and the two manufacturer officers were not parties to the main demand and cannot be held liable for Brunet's injuries. The judgment of the trial court should be reversed.
Avondale's Answer to the Ap
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