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Wade v. Mahler5/17/2000
Argued and submitted June 3, 1999.
Reversed; remanded for entry of judgment in favor of plaintiff in amount of jury verdict, for consideration of costs award to plaintiff, and for satisfaction of judgment in amount of verdict but not costs awarded.
Plaintiff appeals the trial court's entry of a money judgment in favor of defendant. That judgment reduced the jury verdict in favor of plaintiff by the amount of her settlement with a third party and by reason of a personal injury protection (PIP) reimbursement, thereby reducing plaintiff's damages award to zero. The judgment designated defendant as the prevailing party and awarded defendant costs in the amount of $1,000.50. Plaintiff assigns three errors, arguing that the setoff of her award by the third party settlement and PIP reimbursement was not proper and that, in any event, defendant is not the prevailing party and not entitled to costs. Because all of plaintiff's arguments present only questions of law, we review for errors of law. We reverse and remand for entry of judgment in favor of plaintiff in the amount of the jury verdict, for consideration of costs award to plaintiff, and for satisfaction of the judgment in the amount of the verdict but not costs awarded. Selective Services, Inc. v AAA Liquidating, 126 Or App 74, 78-79, 867 P2d 545 (1994).
This litigation arose from two automobile accidents involving plaintiff. The first accident occurred in March 1995, and Neal was the driver of the other car. The second accident involved defendant and occurred in May 1995. Plaintiff brought a single action against both Neal and defendant, alleged that both were at fault in each of the respective accidents, and prayed for economic and non-economic damages resulting from both accidents. Plaintiff alleged that the March 1995 accident with Neal caused bruising and injury to the left side of her neck, left shoulder, left buttock, and upper and lower back, bursitis of the right shoulder, and a predisposition to further injury. Plaintiff alleged that the May 1995 accident with defendant caused, in part, straining and spraining injury to the left side of the neck and upper back, dislocation of several spinal vertebrae, and aggravation of the injuries caused by the March 1995 accident.
Neal and plaintiff subsequently reached a settlement in the amount of $7,500. Plaintiff rejected defendant's offer of settlement and went to a jury trial. Plaintiff then filed an amended complaint that dropped Neal as a party and added a few injuries to her claim against defendant. In addition to the straining injuries and aggravation injuries listed above, plaintiff alleged that the May 1995 accident caused brachial plexitisis injuries and thoracic outlet syndrome.
Plaintiff requested submission of a special verdict form that segregated plaintiff's economic damages into past and present medical bills, past wage loss, loss of opportunity and loss of earning capacity, and future wage loss, loss of opportunity and loss of earning capacity. Plaintiff's form also segregated plaintiff's non-economic damages into several categories. The trial court sent defendant's general verdict form, which distinguished between economic damages and non-economic damages, to the jury. The trial court instructed the jury under Uniform Civil Jury Instruction (UCJI) Number 21.04 that plaintiff and Neal had settled, that the jury was to consider the issues remaining between plaintiff and defendant, and that the jury was not to reduce the amount of damages awarded, if any, by reason of the settlement. The jury returned a verdict awarding $5,300 in economic damages only.
Plaintiff then submitted a proposed money judgment designating plaintiff as
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