Judge and Jury

[Grace_Adler]

What is the name of your state? NC

I'm not sure if this is the right place. I can't remember the answer to this, and I've done a search but couldn't come up with anything. Anyway, I was wondering, if anyone knows for sure if a judge, in a civil case such as suing for medical bills related to a car accident can overrule a jury's decision when they have reached a verdict because he didn't think the amount awarded was fair? Especially if it is believed he may be biased towards the plaintiff?

In this case, the judge stated he wasn't accepting the jury's decision because he didn't think the amount awarded was enough and that the jury didn't do their job so he overruled or overturned it (whichever term is appropriate). So now the situation will either be settled out of court or go back to trial. He made sure he dismissed the jury before stating this.

I thought the judge has the power to do this but I just needed to make sure.

 

[stephenk]

It is called a judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV).

 

[Grace_Adler]

Thank you very much Stephen. You're a sweetheart.

 

[Grace_Adler]

I just recieved some new information about the case. I read that normally judges will give a directed verdict for the jury before doing or using a JNOV. In this case he did. He directed them to put down at least a fee of at least $1. The jury awarded the woman $650 for her emergency room visit, which is more than $1 he stated in his directions.

After he dismissed the jury, he said he didn't agree with the amount the jury awarded her and said it should have been at the very least the $3300 for the medical, but she was asking for $10k. Obviously the jury felt she was not that severely injured and witnesses testified she wasn't injured at the scene and that the accident was just a fender bender. They had witnesses, doctors' testimonies, medical bills, pictures of the cars, etc. to use to argue the case and present all the facts. There is also good chance the judge knows this woman personally and may be biased.

So my question is, in spite of all the testimony, closing arguments, evidence and in spite of the fact the jury followed the directed verdict as the judge instructed them to do, do you think he (the judge) was still in the right for the JNOV? To me, it looks like he went back on his own directions to the jury. They followed his instructions. And I don't see how he didn't think the jury did their job. But I just wanted make sure the judge was still in the right in the way he went about it before I talk to the person involved.