Guglielmo v. Scotti & Sons, Inc.

58 F.R.D. 413, 17 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 739, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14993
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedFebruary 8, 1973
DocketCiv. A. No. 69-585
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 58 F.R.D. 413 (Guglielmo v. Scotti & Sons, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Guglielmo v. Scotti & Sons, Inc., 58 F.R.D. 413, 17 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 739, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14993 (W.D. Pa. 1973).

Opinion

OPINION

SCALERA, District Judge.

Salvatore Guglielmo was killed when the boom of his brick truck touched or came close to power lines maintained by defendant West Penn Power Company upon property owned by defendants Robert and Esther Hammel. At the time of his death decedent was delivering brick for defendant J. J. Sehano Company to the Hammel site for a construction project of defendant contractor, Scotti & Sons, Inc. Defendant Samuel Marini, the project’s brick subcontractor, had ordered the brick pursuant to the obligations of his subcontract with defendant Scotti.

Guglielmo’s administrator filed this action. At the close of the plaintiff’s case, all of the defendants except Marini, Scotti & Sons, Inc. and West Penn Power Company were dismissed pursuant to an oral stipulation entered into by all of the parties.

After trial the jury answered interrogatories so as to find that the defendants West Penn Power Company and Scotti & Sons, Inc. were jointly liable for the decedent’s death, and that the defendant Samuel Marini did not share in that liability.

After further deliberation on the question of damages, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff and against defendants West Penn Power Company and Scotti & Sons, Inc. Both of these defendants have filed post trial motions, which are the subjects of this opinion.

DECISION

Scotti has moved for judgment n. o. v. pursuant to F.R.Civ.P. Rule, 50(b) for the following reasons:

1. The evidence in this case clearly showed that Scotti & Sons, Inc. was the general contractor for the erection of the building involved in this case.

2. Under the evidence in this ease, it was shown that the decedent was working for J. J. Sehano Company, one of the contractors in this case.

3. There was no evidence of any kind to indicate that the decedent occupied any other status than that of an employee of J. J. Sehano Company.

4. Under the evidence, it was proven that Scotti & Sons, Inc. had secured Workmen’s Compensation under a policy of insurance with Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association Insurance Company.

5. That under the Workmen’s Compensation Act of Pennsylvania, 77 P.S. [416]*4161, et seq., it is provided that the General Contractor who has secured Workmen’s Compensation enjoys the immunity given to an employer, which immunity includes immunity from tort liability.

Scotti’s motion for judgment n. o. v.1 raises a serious procedural problem in that Rule 50(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure states in part that:

Whenever a motion for a directed verdict made at the close of all the evidence is denied or for any reason is not granted, the court is deemed to have submitted the action to the jury subject to a later determination of the legal questions raised by the motion. Not later than 10 days after entry of judgment, a party who has moved for a directed verdict may move to have the verdict and any judgment entered thereon set aside and to have judgment entered in accordance with his motion for a directed verdict.

By its terms, this rule clearly indicates that a party must move for a directed verdict at the close of all the evidence in order to preserve its right to move for judgment n. o. v. after the verdict. Massaro v. United States Lines Co. (C. A. 3 1962) 307 F.2d 299. Thé rule was designed to help streamline and implement the procedural niceties that are necessary to insure that a judgment n. o. v. does not violate a party litigant’s Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial. Rule 50 accomplishes this function by allowing that when a motion for directed verdict is denied, the jury may then render a verdict which is subject to the judge’s later redetermination under Rule 50(b) of the legal questions raised and reserved by the defunct motion for a directed verdict. See Moore’s Federal Practice ¶¶ 50.08, 50.09, 50.12.

In the present case the record indicates that Scotti chose not to move for a directed verdict at the close of all the evidence, thereby foreclosing any consideration of its request for judgment n. o. v. When the last remaining defendant had closed his ease, Mr. Rea, counsel for Scotti & Sons, Inc., approached the bench along with counsel for the other parties and the following discussion occurred :

THE COURT: I suppose you don't have your requests? Do you have them?

MR. REA: I just have them verbally, I only have two points plus a motion for a directed verdict. There are just two points.

THE COURT: Well, let’s take the motions now.

MR. REA: I don’t have a motion. I have a written point for binding instructions plus two points.

* * * * * -x-

MR. REA: I am going to submit a request, a point that the Court charge that a person is required to see that which can be seen. I honestly forget the specific legal words for that and it is out of cases that you cannot be heard to say that such plainly visible thing, you have to see that thing which is plainly there to be seen. ******

MR. REA: The only other point is and I would ask how you are going to charge in regard to what the standard of care is of V. Scotti or the standard of care of Marini or the standard of care of the Power Company ? TT 431-432.

We are forced to conclude that this language cannot be construed in any manner that would give it the resemblance of a legitimate motion for a di[417]*417rected verdict. We note that Scotti did subsequently submit a written point for charge, which stated that:

Under all the evidence, the verdict must be in favor of Scotti & Sons, Inc.

Any argument to the effect that this point for charge constitutes a motion for a directed verdict, as required by Rule 50(b) is disposed of by the holding in Eisenberg v. Smith, (C.A. 3 1959) 263 F.2d 827. The Eisenberg court relied on that portion of Rule 50(a) which mandates that “A motion for a directed verdict shall state the specific grounds therefor” in order to hold that a requested instruction directing a verdict on the law and the evidence was not precise enough to qualify as a motion for a directed verdict within the meaning of Rule 50(b). See also Budge Manufacturing Co. v. United States, (C.A. 3 1960) 280 F.2d 414.

We find that Scotti did not move for a directed verdict at the close of all the evidence, as required by Rule 50(b), and this omission bars consideration of its motion for judgment n. o. v. Nonetheless, we discuss, albeit gratuitously, Scotti’s contention that it was Guglielmo’s statutory employer and as such is entitled to judgment n. o. v.

In order to grant judgment n. o. v. (a situation which normally implies that a jury has considered a particular issue and has found against the moving party), the court, without weighing the credibility of the evidence must determine that the only reasonable conclusion as to the proper judgment favors the n. o. v. movant. This standard is the same standard applicable to motions for directed verdict. Downey v. Union Paving Co., (C.A.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
58 F.R.D. 413, 17 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 739, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14993, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/guglielmo-v-scotti-sons-inc-pawd-1973.