Stroot v. New Haverford Partnership

793 A.2d 411, 1999 WL 753916, 1999 Del. Super. LEXIS 352
CourtSuperior Court of Delaware
DecidedAugust 17, 1999
DocketC.A.No. 95C-05-074HLA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 793 A.2d 411 (Stroot v. New Haverford Partnership) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stroot v. New Haverford Partnership, 793 A.2d 411, 1999 WL 753916, 1999 Del. Super. LEXIS 352 (Del. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

OPINION

ALFORD, J.

I. Background

This is a civil action for damages brought by plaintiffs Elizabeth Stroot (“Stroot”), Joletta Watson (“Watson”) (collectively, “Plaintiffs”), Lois Schindler, Angela McCarthy, and others against the defendants, New Haverford Partnership, et al., (“Defendants”), arising out of injuries sustained by Plaintiffs due to unsanitary and unhealthy living conditions at Haverford Place Apartments (“Haverford Place”) in Mill Creek Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware.

On May 11, 1999, following more than two weeks of trial, a jury awarded Stroot damages in the amount of $1,000,000 and $40,000 to Watson. The jury also awarded damages for expenditures necessary to obtain adequate substitute housing in the amount of $5,000 to Stroot, $1,500 to Angela McCarthy, and $3,700 to Lois Schindler. Before the Court is Defendants’ motion for remittitur and relief from the jury verdict, pursuant to Superior Court Civil Rule 59(d), contending that the damages award to plaintiffs Stroot and Watson is speculative and that it is so excessive that it should shock the judicial conscience.

II. Defendants’ Motion for Remittitur Related to Stroot

Defendants move this Court for remitti-tur arguing that the $1,000,000 jury verdict to Stroot is grossly excessive. Defendants’ argument is twofold: That Stroot’s damages were not proven to a reasonable probability, and that the award was so excessive to shock the Court’s conscience. Defendants first argue that although there was evidence from which the jury could have awarded Stroot damages related to the aggravation of her allergies and her asthma while she resided at Haverford Place, any damages related to future pain regarding her worsened asthma, increased risk of broken bones, and increased risk of tuberculosis were too speculative in nature for the jury to award such damages.

Defendants argue that there was no evidence from which the jury could determine how much worse Stroot’s asthma actually was on a permanent basis. Defendants further aver that there was no evidence from which the jury could determine the extent to which Stroot’s condition was caused by having lived at Haverford Place, and not by her other allergies. Defendants argue that the jury was not provided adequate information to determine the extent of Stroot’s increased risk of developing tuberculosis because the only evidence Stroot provided was that she had been exposed to the disease in a setting outside of Haverford Place. Defendants also argue that the evidence did not indicate the extent to which Stroot’s risk of developing active tuberculosis increased as a result of her increased prednisone usage. Therefore, Defendants argue, any future damage award was based on speculation.

[413]*413In regards to Stroot’s osteopenia, Defendants contend that the medical evidence provided by Stroot’s physician, Dr. Cecile Rose, was not specific enough to support an award of damages. Defendants contend that Dr. Rose’s testimony merely indicated that Stroot had osteope-nia and that the osteopenia was probably related to her steroid use while living at Haverford Place. On this issue, Defendants finally contend that the jury was hot provided sufficient information to determine future damages because Dr. Rose did not indicate the extent to which Stroot’s risk of developing osteopenia was a result of her increased steroid use related to Haverford Place, as compared to the risk of developing osteopenia outside of having lived at the apartment complex.

Turning to Defendants’ argument that the award was excessive and should shock the Court’s conscience, Defendants argue that such remittitur is warranted based on the disparity between the nature of the Stroot’s injuries and the jury award. Defendants maintain that while the jury could have reasonably awarded Stroot the medical expenses she incurred, $28,810.39, for aggravation of her allergies and asthma while she lived at Haverford Place, and “a mild decrease in her cognitive functioning,” there was no basis on which the jury could have determined to what degree her asthma was permanently worsened. Defendants further argue that this verdict should shock the Courtis conscience because there was no evidence that Stroot would suffer future medical costs as a result of her worsened condition and that there was no evidence that Stroot would suffer loss of earning capacity because of her cognitive deficiencies.

III. Defendants’ Motion for Remittitur Related to Watson

Defendants also ask for a remittitur regarding the jury award to Watson in the amount of $40,000. Defendants argue that such remittitur is warranted based on the disparity between the nature of Watson’s injuries and the jury award, and that the award should shock the .Court’s conscience. Defendants maintain that between November 1, 1990 to October 31, 1994, the period during which Watson lived at Haverford Place, she had only one visit to her doctor for bronchitis and that she was treated with antibiotics for this condition.

Defendants also argue that Watson did not see her private physician for her bronchitis but instead, only visited Dr. Echardt Johanning in May 1996, who diagnosed her with recurrent bronchitis and sinusitis based solely on her subjective complaints. Defendants claim that Dr. Johanning ignored Watson’s testimony that she had fully recovered approximately six months after leaving Haverford Place, and that Dr. Johanning’s physical exam, chest x-rays, and pulmonary function testing on May 14, 1996 revealed no abnormal findings. Defendants’ contention is that Watson’s bronchitis was treated with an occasional use of antibiotics prescribed by her primary care physician and that there was no claim for past or future medical expenses and lost income.

TV. Discussion

The presumption in Delaware is that a jury verdict is “correct and just.” 1 A Motion for Remittitur under Superior Court Civil Rule 69 may be granted by the trial court following a jury trial only with [414]*414great reluctance.2 This Court has the authority to grant a new trial if it finds that the verdict is based upon “passion, partiality, prejudice, mistake or misapprehension on the part of the jury.”3 It has also been held that a verdict will not be set aside unless it is “so grossly excessive as to shock the Court’s conscience and sense of justice; and unless the injustice of allowing the verdict is clear.”4

Therefore, “barring exceptional circumstances, a trial judge should not set aside a jury verdict on such ground unless ... the evidence [weighs] so heavily against the jury verdict that a reasonable jury could not have reached the result.”5

By way of background, Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against Defendants alleging that they were exposed to various mycotoxins, bacteria, fungi, and other toxic substances while they lived at Haverford Place Apartments. Plaintiffs alleged that as a result of their exposure to various toxic substances at the apartment complex, they sustained serious and personal injuries; suffered mental and emotional injuries; were required to seek medical care and hospitalization, and will be required to seek further medical care in the future; were incapacitated from attending to then-usual duties; and that they sustained economic losses.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
793 A.2d 411, 1999 WL 753916, 1999 Del. Super. LEXIS 352, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stroot-v-new-haverford-partnership-delsuperct-1999.