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Shiv-Ram12/30/2003
On September 14, 1998, Linda McCaleb ("Linda") and her husband, Dennis, sued Shiv-Ram, Inc., d/b/a Ramada Inn of Anniston ("Shiv-Ram"), and other named and fictitiously named defendants not parties to this appeal. Their complaint alleged negligence, wantonness, breach of contract, and loss of consortium and sought both compensatory and punitive damages. The case was tried before a jury in the Calhoun Circuit Court. At the close of the evidence, Shiv-Ram moved for a judgment as a matter of law, which the trial court denied as to all claims except Linda's breach-of-contract claim. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Linda, awarding compensatory damages of $176,572.82 and punitive damages of $500,000.00. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Shiv-Ram as to Dennis's loss-of-consortium claim. The trial court entered a judgment on the verdict and Shiv-Ram filed postjudgment motions pursuant to Rules 50 and 59, Ala.R.Civ.P., seeking a judgment as a matter of law, a new trial, or a remittitur of the damages. After a hearing on those motions, the trial court entered an order denying Shiv-Ram's postjudgment motions and providing an extensive and thorough analysis of the applicable law; Shiv-Ram appealed. We affirmed.
Facts
The record shows the following. On June 14, 1997, Linda, accompanied by two children, checked into a Ramada Inn motel ("the motel") located in Anniston. Linda had reserved a room with a king-sized bed. After getting settled in the room, Linda began to iron some clothes. Because there was no ironing board in the room, Linda was using the bed as an ironing board. While she was ironing, Linda took a step by the side of the bed to approach the nightstand adjacent to the bed. When she did so, her right ankle "struck something," causing a "very sharp pain." Linda examined her ankle; it had a "goose egg" on it and there was a "speck" of blood. After composing herself, Linda lifted the bedspread and saw what she described as a "sharp thing sticking out" from the bed frame; it was approximately three inches in length. The object was part of the frame that supported the mattress and box springs. Linda then went to the front office of the motel and reported her injury to the clerk on duty.
Although Linda presented a great deal of evidence at trial concerning the severe medical problems and damage she suffered as a result of her injury, involving 99 visits to 14 different doctors, we need not recount any of that evidence because Shiv-Ram states in its initial brief that it "elects not to challenge the jury's very substantial award of compensatory damages to Ms. McCaleb," choosing to challenge only the punitive-damages award.
On February 25, 1997, before Linda's injury, Danny Patel, as the successful bidder at the auction where the motel was sold, entered into an agreement with Anniston Motel Associates, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as "AMA"), the then owner of the motel, to purchase the motel in an "as-is, where is" condition. The transaction was to close on June 13, 1997. In the interim, Danny incorporated Shiv-Ram, which would own and operate the motel. Two days before the closing, Jay Patel, who is not related to Danny but who is a minority shareholder in Shiv-Ram, was told that he would be the general manager of the motel. Jay had been in the motel business for seven years and had been the general manager of a motel in Talledaga for three and a half years. Jay testified at trial that the responsibilities of a general manager included maintenance services and guest safety. He also testified that it was customary in the motel industry to routinely inspect guest rooms for safety and to maintain incident reports and work-order books to keep abreast of any injurie
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