Texas insurance company wins appeal, granted mandamus relief by First District Court in 2015 injury case.
Texas Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company sought mandamus relief in connection with the trial court’s setting aside a jury’s verdict and ordering a new trial.
The relator complained that the amended order’s grant of new trial as well as the court’s determination that the jury’s finding was against weighed greatly against the evidence presented during the trail.
The original lawsuit stemmed from a 2015 incident in which plaintiff Katherine Hunter was crossing the street in Galveston, Texas when she was struck by a car. At the time, she was insured by the Texas Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company. Hunter settled with the driver’s insurer for $50,000 and collected $10,000 from her own insurer.
She later sued the insurer for underinsured motorist (“UIM”) benefits, asking the jury to award more than $1.6 million for “past and future physical pain and mental anguish, past and future physical impairment, and future medical expenses.”
On April 11, 2019, the trial court signed a final judgment rendering judgment in favor of relator, ordering that Hunter take nothing on her UIM claims.
On May 10, 2019, Hunter moved for a new trial, asserting the jury’s verdict was against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence. The court held a hearing on June 24, 2019 and granted the motion for new trial.
“Relator asserts in its petition for writ of mandamus that the trial court abused its discretion in ordering the new trial because (1) Texas law does not require the jury to award damages even if the defendant is found to be negligent, and (2) the record supports the jury’s finding that Hunter was not entitled to damages,” reads the appeal.
“Hunter asserts mandamus relief is not warranted because (1) the invited error doctrine precludes the relief relator seeks, and (2) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding the jury’s zero-damages award was against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence.”
The Honorable Justice Russell Lloyd conditionally granted the insurance company mandamus relief, directing the trial court to vacate its amended order.