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Redmond v. Socha10/6/2005
t causes of action." 75B Am. Jur. 2d Trial §1805, at 562 (1992). Thus, "the plaintiff in each cause must meet his burden of proof with respect to each element of his claim, without regard to whether the opposing party has or has not met his burden of proof in the competing claim." Further, "only when a judgment rests on some particular finding for its validity and support" will inconsistencies "between two findings treating of the same essential matter" necessitate a new trial. 75B Am. Jur. 2d Trial §1805, at 652 (1992). See also IPI Civil (1995) No. B21.04, Comment ("A plaintiff's burden of proving the issues raised by the complaint cannot be distinguished from a defendant's burden of proving the issues made by the counterclaim. The two pleadings are of equal dignity in that they embody separate causes of action and must be resolved by verdicts").
Such was the case in Wottowa, where the jury found in one count that defendants were not acting in their individual capacities, but as corporate officers, yet found, on the same set of underlying facts, that with regard to the other count, the same individuals were personally liable. Wottowa, 104 Ill. 2d at 316.
Socha argues that, unlike the verdicts in Wottowa, the verdicts in this case are not legally inconsistent because they are supported by the reasonable hypothesis that the jury found that both parties failed to meet their burden of proof. She argues further that the appellate court's decision conflicts with the decision of another appellate district in Barrick, and with a decision within the same appellate district in Boasiako.
Support for her first proposition is found in the Illinois pattern jury instructions themselves. The applicable instruction in this case (IPI Civil (1995) No. B21.04) specifically authorizes such an outcome and incorporates the elements of negligence from instruction B21.02 (IPI Civil (1995) No. B21.02). Instruction 21.01, which was also given, defines burden of proof: the jury "must be persuaded, considering all the evidence in the case, that the proposition on which he has the burden of proof is more probably true than not true." IPI Civil (1995) No. 21.01. Socha argues that the appellate court's decision in this case essentially means that instruction B21.04 does not accurately state the law in a case in which there is no evidence of an intervening cause or condition.
The approach taken by the appellate court would mean that in such cases, neither party has to meet the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence. So long as the parties are involved in an accident under conditions that do not clearly demonstrate an intervening cause, the jury would be required to impose liability on one, or the other, or both-without regard to whether they had met their respective burdens of proof. As the comment to the instruction makes clear, however, even when there is a complaint and a counterclaim based on the same set of facts, a party must prove each element of his or her claim in order to prevail. IPI Civil (1995) No. B21.04, Comment.
The approach taken by the appellate court in this case was rejected in Boasiako, which involved a claim and counterclaim arising from a collision between two taxicabs. The jury found for the plaintiff, but determined that he was 40% at fault. However, on the counterclaim, the jury again found for the plaintiff. Because the same individual was found 40% at fault in one verdict, but not negligent in the other, defendants argued that the verdicts were legally inconsistent and could not stand. Boasiako, 140 Ill. App. 3d at 212. The appellate court held that the two verdicts were reconcilable. Noting that the "principles of comparative negligence do not rel
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