Carl Roberson, et al. v. Motion Industries, Inc., et al.

The jury returned a verdict in this car wreck lawsuit for Carl and Vicki Roberson ("Plaintiffs") in the amount of $900,000. However, the jury assessed 38% of the fault to Carl Roberson, thereby reducing the total verdict to $558,000 under comparative fault principles. On appeal, Plaintiffs claim the Trial Court erred when it denied their motion for a directed verdict made at the close of proof and in their Rule 50.02 motion. In their motion for directed verdict, Plaintiffs argued there was no material evidence to support defendant Motion Industries' claim that Mr. Roberson was guilty of comparative fault. The Trial Court denied the motion and allowed the jury to decide the comparative fault issue. Thereafter, Plaintiffs filed a motion for new trial which the Trial Court denied after specifically approving the amount of damages awarded by the jury as well as the jury's allocation of fault. Plaintiffs appeal claiming the Trial Court erred when it denied their motion for directed verdict. We affirm.