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Gamerdinger v. Schaefer12/22/1999
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Todd A. Geer, Judge.
On appeal and cross-appeal, the trial court's grant of a new trial is affirmed on plaintiffs' cross-appeal.
In this personal injury action the district court granted a new trial on plaintiffs' motion. Defendants appealed and plaintiffs cross-appealed. We now affirm the granting of a new trial for reasons raised in plaintiffs' cross-appeal.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings
Plaintiffs, Sharri and Thomas Gamerdinger, filed suit against defendants, Patrick Schaefer and Deere & Company, for damages the Gamerdingers sustained as a result of a collision at Deere's plant between a motorized cart driven by Sharri Gamerdinger and a forklift truck driven by Patrick K. Schaefer. Sharri Gamerdinger claimed she sustained personal injuries as a result of the accident; Thomas Gamerdinger brought a claim for loss of consortium.
Following a jury trial, a verdict was returned in which fifty percent of the fault for the accident was attributed to Sherri Gamerdinger, twenty percent to Schaefer, and thirty percent to Deere. The jury awarded Gamerdinger $10,776.04 for past medical expenses and $20,000 for those expected to be incurred in the future. These amounts were reduced by her percentage of fault. No other damages were granted. Judgment was entered in favor of Gamerdinger for $15,388.02 plus interest.
Gamerdinger moved for a new trial, arguing in part that the jury verdict was inconsistent in that it awarded medical expenses but failed to confer corresponding amounts for pain and suffering and loss of function. The district court agreed and suggested additur of $40,000. Both parties objected to the amount proposed so the court sustained the motion for a new trial.
On appeal, defendants claim the verdict is not inconsistent, and that a new trial should not have been granted on the ground that it was. Defendants further assert plaintiffs waived error in this regard by not requesting a jury instruction on the issue, and by not objecting to the verdict before the jury was dismissed.
On cross-appeal, plaintiffs raise two evidentiary issues that we find dispositive. For this reason we do not address the other matters.
II. Scope of Review
The trial court ordered a new trial pursuant to Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 244. Our review proceeds to determine if the trial court abused its discretion in granting a new trial. Wilson v. IBP, Inc., 558 N.W.2d 132, 144 (Iowa 1996); Collier v. General Inns Corp., 431 N.W.2d 189, 190 (Iowa App. 1988). Our review may also result in an affirmance on grounds other than those relied on by the trial court. Grefe & Sidney v. Watters, 525 N.W.2d 821, 826 (Iowa 1994); Collins v. State, 477 N.W.2d 374, 376 (Iowa 1991).
III. Evidence of Habit
A. Introduction
Gamerdinger asserted that she was injured when Schaefer negligently operated his forklift truck and ran into her motorized cart. She sought to introduce evidence of Schaefer's habit of being negligent in operating the forklift.
Iowa Rule of Evidence 406 is implicated here. It states:
Evidence of the habit of a person or of the routine practice of an organization, whether corroborated or not and regardless of the presence of eyewitnesses, is relevant to prove that the conduct of the person or organization on a particular occasion was in conformity with the habit or routine practice.
Prior to the beginning of evidence, the trial court granted defendants' motion in limine concerning the safety of Schaefer's previous operation of the forklift. The co
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