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Grandstaff v. Hawks5/31/2000
dstaff sought a directed verdict at the close of the proof because neither Mr. Forrest nor Mr. Hawks had presented evidence showing that her conduct caused the collision or contributed to her injuries. Mr. Hawks opposed the motion on the ground that Ms. Grandstaff, as a guest passenger, was responsible, at least in part, for her own injuries because she did not tell Mr. Forrest to slow down. The trial court overruled Ms. Grandstaff's motion and instructed the jury to apportion all the fault among Messrs. Forrest and Hawks and Ms. Grandstaff. The jury returned a verdict assessing each party's damages and allocating the parties' fault as follows: 49% to Mr. Hawks, 49% to Mr. Forrest, and 2% to Ms. Grandstaff. Thereafter, on April 14, 1997, the trial court entered a judgment on the verdict, directing Mr. Hawks to pay Mr. Forrest $68,741.26 and to pay Ms. Grandstaff $67,727. The judgment also directed Mr. Forrest to pay Mr. Hawks $101,541.56 and to pay Ms. Grandstaff $67,727.
Mr. Hawks and State Farm filed post-trial motions taking issue with the jury's inclusion of Ms. Grandstaff in the allocation of fault and also seeking a remittitur of Ms. Grandstaff's damages. On May 13, 1997, after Ms. Grandstaff settled her claims against Mr. Hawks, Messrs. Hawks and Forrest filed a joint motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or to alter or amend the judgment. The drivers agreed in the agreed order attached to their motion "that the fault of Jack Dempsey Forrest and the fault of William H. Hawks, Sr. is equal and that any comparative fault of Jean Marie Grandstaff should not have been included in the determination [of fault] by the jury . . .." On May 16, 1997, without affording either Ms. Grandstaff or State Farm an opportunity to respond to the motion, the trial court entered the drivers' "amended agreed order" dismissing with prejudice the claims by Messrs. Hawks and Forrest against each other "their respective faults having been found to be equal." Both Ms. Grandstaff and State Farm quickly objected to the May 16, 1997 order, insisting that it should only have reflected that Messrs. Hawks and Forrest had settled their claims against each other.
Mr. Hawks later withdrew his post-trial motion for a new trial or for a remittitur, leaving only Ms. Grandstaff's claims against Mr. Forrest unresolved. State Farm continued to press its motion for a new trial and a remittitur. On June 17, 1997, the trial court denied State Farm's motion for a new trial after conceding that its instructions to consider Ms. Grandstaff in the allocation of fault "presented unresolved and problematic issues" and that "any perceived shortcoming in the charge to the jury should be addressed, if at all, to the Court of Appeals." The trial court also concluded that the jury's award of damages to Ms. Grandstaff was "excessive" and directed State Farm to provide a transcript of her treating chiropractor's testimony. On August 8, 1997, the trial court entered an order suggesting a remittitur of Ms. Grandstaff's damages to $75,000. Ms. Grandstaff accepted the remittitur under protest.
I.
The Admissibility of Nancy Owens' Testimony
We will first consider State Farm's challenge to the admissibility of the only evidence tending to establish that Mr. Forrest was speeding immediately before the accident. State Farm argues that the trial court erred by permitting the introduction of this evidence because it involved events that were not sufficiently linked in time and place with the collision. We have determined that State Farm cannot raise this issue on appeal because it failed to make a timely objection to this evidence at trial.
Nancy Sue Owens, a registered nurse, was among
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