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Shelton v. Greater Cleveland Reg. Transit Auth.12/18/1989
JOHN F. CORRIGAN, Judge.
In this consolidated appeal, the defendant Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority seeks reversal of a jury trial judgment for the plaintiff on her negligence claim stemming from her rape at a transit authority rapid station (case No. 56431). The plaintiff appeals from the trial court's denial of her motion for prejudgment interest on the $750,000 jury award (case No. 56287).
The transit authority, in five assignments of error, claims that the trial court erred in (1) denying its motions for a directed verdict and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, (2) admitting the testimony of a former transit authority board member who criticized management policies and admitting testimony relating to the rape of another woman by the plaintiff's attacker on the previous day, (3) admitting the testimony of an expert witness where the plaintiff failed to file an expert witness report pursuant to local rule, (4) finding R.C. 2744.05(C), which limits damage awards against political subdivisions to $250,000, unconstitutional, and (5) denying the transit authority's motion for remittitur.
The plaintiff, in her two assignments of error, argues that the trial court abused its discretion in denying her motion for prejudgment interest and erroneously excluded evidence in support of that motion, which concerned the transit authority's failure to cooperate in discovery. We find that the trial court erred in denying the transit authority's directed verdict motion, so we reverse the trial court's judgment and order judgment for the transit authority.
The plaintiff claimed that the rape severely disrupted her personal life. Because of the rape, the seven-year relationship she had with her former boyfriend ended. She distrusts men and has been unable to maintain any relationship with a man since the rape. She has periods where she cannot sleep and occasionally her sleep is disturbed by nightmares of the attack. She becomes irrationally upset with and unreasonably protective of her two teenage children. She becomes enraged and cries for no apparent reason. She refuses to go out of her home at night. The plaintiff testified that none of these behaviors existed prior to the rape.
The plaintiff further testified in regard to the economic losses she sustained as a result of the rape. She currently works as a word processor at a local board of education. She has been employed there for three years. At the time of the rape, she had just started a temporary job as a word processor at a local office. She stated that she lost no time from that job as a result of the rape. She went back to work the morning following the attack. However, the plaintiff testified that at the time of the rape she had just completed the first year of a three-year evening court reporter program. She stated that she fully intended to complete that program and become a professional court reporter, but discontinued that program after the rape. The witness claimed that as a court reporter her income would have been "substantially increased."
The plaintiff testified that since the attack three mental health professionals have treated her. She sees her current psychologist on an irregular basis when she feels a need to discuss her problems. The plaintiff stated that she has declined to participate in group therapy as her psychologist has advised. She testified that her bills for psychological treatment amount to $490 and that she also paid $137.50 for her treatment at the hospital emergency room.
The two Cleveland police detectives who first responded to the plaintiff's call for help testified. They stated that they found the plai
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