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Fowler-Propst v. Dattilo3/22/1991
owing that the bodily condition of plaintiff was not such in fact as was supposed to be by the jury. [Citations omitted in original.]
Accord Nordin Constr. Co. v. City of Nome, 489 P.2d 455, 473 (Alaska 1971) ("If it were grounds for a new trial that facts occurring subsequent to the trial have shown an inaccurate prophecy, litigation would never come to an end").
The very presence of statutory mechanisms to adjust for future events in assessing damages -- such as the fund created by the Medical Malpractice Act to pay future medical bills, see NMSA 1978, Section 41-5-7 (Repl. Pamp. 1989), and the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act for payment of future medical expenses and for
reevaluation of the worker's condition, e.g., NMSA 1978, Section 52-1-56 (Repl. Pamp. 1987) -- suggests that the common understanding is that in other circumstances the trial puts an end to such inquiries. In other words, the parties expect post-judgment repose. Indeed, the regularity with which parties seek lump-sum settlements for medical expenses under the Medical Malpractice Act and the Workers' Compensation Act illustrates the attraction that certainty and repose hold for all parties.
The reasonable expectations of the parties should be no different in a case like the one before us. When witnesses value an item of property, they are in essence predicting what a willing buyer would pay a willing seller. Everyone at trial knows that the testimony consists of estimates. Everyone knows that the estimates may be wrong, even quite wrong. No one expects the trial to be put off until the occurrence of some definitive event that establishes damages with certainty. Nevertheless, all expect the trial to end the controversy.
Because the grant of a new trial by the district court was founded on a post-trial event that is material solely to undermine the predictions of experts at trial relating to damages, we reverse the district court with directions to reinstate the original judgment.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
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