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Redmond v. Socha10/6/2005
Pace, 101 Ill. App. 3d 49, 53 (1981). Thus, the two verdicts-one of which found the defendants not liable because they were acting as agents of the corporations, and one of which found them liable as individuals for fraud for the same transaction-were legally inconsistent. In effect, the jury determined that agency both did and did not exist. This result is legally inconsistent. See also Boasiako v. Checker Taxi Co., 140 Ill. App. 3d 210, 212-13 (1986) (if same jury, on same set of facts and circumstances, reaches two different factual conclusions as expressed by their verdicts, such verdicts will not support a valid judgment unless they are reconcilable under an applicable rule of law).
We, therefore, hold that whether two verdicts are legally inconsistent is a question of law. As a result, a trial court's order granting or denying a new trial based on a claim of legally inconsistent verdicts is subject to de novo review. P.R.S. International, 184 Ill. 2d at 233-34. This conclusion is supported by the well-established principle that although a trial court's ruling on a motion for a new trial will generally not be reversed absent an abuse of discretion, legally inconsistent verdicts must be set aside and a new trial granted. Tedeschi, 282 Ill. App. 3d at 448. If a new trial must be granted upon a finding of legally inconsistent verdicts, no exercise of discretion is involved and, therefore, no deference is due.
We note at least two lines of cases on the question of legally inconsistent verdicts in civil cases. The first line of cases consists of those involving a single claim in which the single verdict is alleged to be internally inconsistent or "inherently self-contradictory" (75B Am. Jur. 2d Trial ยง1805, at 563 (1992)), as when the damages awarded are not reasonably related to the liability found. See, e.g., Galloway v. Kuhl, 346 Ill. App. 3d 844, 850 (2004) (jury's verdict imposing liability and awarding damages for disfigurement and pain and suffering was legally inconsistent with failure to award reasonable expenses of medical treatment received by plaintiff); Hinnen v. Burnett, 144 Ill. App. 3d 1038 (1986) (jury's verdict awarding damages for the expense of pain medication and physical therapy was inconsistent with failure to award any damages for pain and suffering).
The second line of cases involves those in which multiple claims are made by one or more parties and where a verdict as to one claim is alleged to be inconsistent with the verdict as to another. See, e.g., Wottowa, 104 Ill. 2d at 316 (verdict in favor of defendants on basis that they were acting as agents of corporations was legally inconsistent with verdict that they were liable, as individuals, for fraud based on same transaction); Action Construction & Restoration, Inc. v. West Bend Mutual Insurance Co., 322 Ill. App. 3d 181, 183-84 (2001) (jury verdict finding that defendant breached oral contract necessarily required the jury to find that the parties had a meeting of the minds, which finding was legally inconsistent with verdict that defendant obtained plaintiff's agreement by perpetuating a common law fraud). The present case falls into the second category.
In both categories of cases, the same general rules apply: the court will exercise all reasonable presumptions in favor of the verdict or verdicts, which will not be found legally inconsistent unless absolutely irreconcilable; further, the verdict or verdicts will not be considered irreconcilably inconsistent if supported by any reasonable hypothesis. Tedeschi, 282 Ill. App. 3d at 448-49.
In the second category of cases, it has been observed that " lthough causes of action may be consolidated for trial, they remain distinc
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