From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

Dopwell v. City of New York

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
May 13, 1996
227 A.D.2d 436 (N.Y. App. Div. 1996)

Opinion

May 13, 1996

Appeal from the Supreme Court, Queens County (Kitzes, J.).


Ordered that the appeal from the order is dismissed without costs or disbursements; and it is further,

Ordered that the judgment is reversed, on the facts and as an exercise of discretion, with costs, and a new trial is granted on the issue of damages only, unless within 20 days after service upon the plaintiffs of a copy of this decision and order, with notice of entry, the plaintiffs shall serve and file in the office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court, Queens County, a written stipulation consenting to reduce the verdict as to damages in favor of Henry Dopwell to the principal sum of $1,250,000 ($750,000 for past pain and suffering and $500,000 for future pain and suffering), and in favor of Rosa Dopwell to the principal sum of $200,000 ($150,000 for past pain and suffering and $50,000 for future pain and suffering), and to the entry of an amended judgment accordingly. In the event that the plaintiffs so stipulate, then the judgment, as so reduced and amended, is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.

The appeal from the intermediate order must be dismissed because the right of direct appeal therefrom terminated with the entry of judgment in the action ( see, Matter of Aho, 39 N.Y.2d 241, 248). The issues raised on appeal from the order are brought up for review and have been considered on the appeal from the judgment ( see, CPLR 5501 [a] [1]).

The jury verdict on the issue of liability in favor of the plaintiffs is not contrary to the weight of the evidence ( see, Salazar v. Fisher, 147 A.D.2d 470; Nicastro v. Park, 113 A.D.2d 129, 134).

"It is well settled that the amount of damages to be awarded for personal injuries is primarily a question of fact for the jury" ( Schare v. Welsbach Elec. Corp., 138 A.D.2d 477, 478). However, a new trial may be granted where the award "deviates materially from what would be reasonable compensation" (CPLR 5501 [c]). We find that the jury verdict deviated materially from what would be reasonable compensation ( see, e.g., Calandrillo v. East Nassau Med. Group, 186 A.D.2d 703, 704; Gunder v. Murthy, 185 A.D.2d 915; Veneski v. City of New York, 69 A.D.2d 858).

The defendant's remaining contentions are either unpreserved for appellate review or without merit. Mangano, P.J., Miller, Ritter and Pizzuto, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

Dopwell v. City of New York

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
May 13, 1996
227 A.D.2d 436 (N.Y. App. Div. 1996)
Case details for

Dopwell v. City of New York

Case Details

Full title:HENRY DOPWELL et al., Respondents, v. CITY OF NEW YORK, Appellant

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department

Date published: May 13, 1996

Citations

227 A.D.2d 436 (N.Y. App. Div. 1996)
643 N.Y.S.2d 360

Citing Cases

Novick v. Godec

The damages awards, as reduced and stipulated to by the plaintiff's, do not deviate materially from what…

Mitchell v. N.Y.C. Transit Auth

The determination of the amount of damages to be awarded for personal injuries is primarily a question of…