Baker v. Hutson8/20/2002
. See Frisch Contracting Service Corp. v. Northern Illinois Gas Co., 93 Ill. App. 3d 799, 807, 417 N.E.2d 1070, 1076 (1981); Collgood, Inc. v. Sands Drug Co., 5 Ill. App. 3d 910, 920, 284 N.E.2d 406, 412 (1972).
In Collgood, Inc., a decision from this district, the plaintiff sought to recover for smoke and water damage to personal property. The damage had resulted from a fire. At the close of the evidence, the trial court directed a verdict in favor of the plaintiff on the issue of liability and on the amount of damages sustained. Collgood, Inc., 5 Ill. App. 3d at 913, 284 N.E.2d at 407. On appeal, this court was asked to consider whether the amount of damages in property injury cases ever becomes a question of law and, if so, whether the trial court was justified in directing a verdict on damages. Collgood, Inc., 5 Ill. App. 3d at 920, 284 N.E.2d at 412. In that case, this court indicated that the issue had not been previously addressed in Illinois . This court recounted the general rule that the question of damages is ordinarily one of fact for the jury, and it recognized that the discretion of the jury on an award of damages, though wide, was not unlimited. Collgood, Inc., 5 Ill. App. 3d at 920, 284 N.E.2d at 412. This court concluded, " lthough the question of the amount of damages is ordinarily best left to the jury, where the plaintiff offers substantial credible evidence to show the amount of his loss in damages to personal property and that evidence is both reasonable on its face and undisputed by the defendant, the trial court may be justified in directing a verdict *." Collgood, Inc., 5 Ill. App. 3d at 920, 284 N.E.2d at 413. After reviewing the evidence in the record, this court determined that the directed verdict on liability and the amount of damages was proper. Collgood, Inc., 5 Ill. App. 3d at 920, 284 N.E.2d at 412.
In Frisch Contracting Service Corp., the plaintiff sought to recover from two defendants for damages to a sewer system. Frisch Contracting Service Corp., 93 Ill. App. 3d at 801, 417 N.E.2d at 1072. The trial court entered a directed verdict in favor of one of the defendants at the close of the plaintiff's case. At the close of the evidence, the trial court entered a directed verdict on liability and damages against the remaining defendant, and the court assessed the plaintiff's damages at $4,000. On appeal, the plaintiff claimed that the trial court erred in directing a verdict for damages of $4,000, when its evidence showed that its actual repair costs totaled more than $45,000. Frisch Contracting Service Corp., 93 Ill. App. 3d at 805, 417 N.E.2d at 1075. After reviewing the record, our colleagues in the Second District concluded that the issue should have been submitted to the jury because there was a key factual issue regarding what constituted reasonable and necessary repairs and because the parties presented competent but conflicting evidence on that issue. Frisch Contracting Service Corp., 93 Ill. App. 3d at 807-08, 417 N.E.2d at 1076-77. In considering the issue, the Second District reviewed the Collgood, Inc., decision and agreed that there may be occasions when a property damage question can be decided as a matter of law. Frisch Contracting Service Corp., 93 Ill. App. 3d at 807, 417 N.E.2d at 1076. However, the court urged caution and restraint by trial courts in directing verdicts on property damage questions, because of the lack of conclusiveness of damage evidence even when no contrary evidence is offered. Frisch Contracting Service Corp., 93 Ill. App. 3d at 807, 417 N.E.2d at 1076.
We agree with the admonition of our colleagues in the Second District that a directed verdict on damages in any case should be undertaken with extreme caution and sho
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