Bassett v. Morine
A jury awarded $2 million in future medical expenses in an auto negligence case; the trial court remitted the award to $1,274,433.71, and the plaintiff rejected the remittitur and appealed. The Second District affirmed, holding that a lone documentary cost estimate that no witness explained and that counsel never relied upon at trial did not make the verdict reasonably related to future medical expenses proved with reasonable certainty, and clarifying that remittitur review under section 768.043 is not the competent-substantial-evidence standard applicable to JNOV.
Key facts
- Plaintiff Bassett sought damages for future medical expenses in an auto negligence case; a jury awarded $2 million, which the trial court reduced via remittitur to $1,274,433.71.
- Plaintiff rejected the remittitur and appealed; the trial court's reduction was based on a single unexplained cost estimate in medical records that no witness testified about and counsel never relied upon at trial.
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Why it matters
This opinion draws a clear line between the deferential competent-substantial-evidence standard for JNOV and the broader 'clearly excessive' review trial courts must undertake on a remittitur motion, a distinction… — full analysis with a trial
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