Judge: Gregory W. Alarcon, Case: 20STCV11476, Date: 2025-04-28 Tentative Ruling
Case Number: 20STCV11476 Hearing Date: April 28, 2025 Dept: 96
Motion for New Trial/Additur
Plaintiff’s motion moves for an additur and/or new trial.
Plaintiff recovered a jury verdict of $30,000 in past and suffering, $37,500 in
past medical expenses, $3,125 in future medical expenses, and $0 in future pain
and suffering. The plaintiff seeks the court to provide an additur regarding
future pain and suffering. Defendant
disagrees.
The court, having presided over the trial, finds no grounds
for a new trial or an additur. The jury
was presented with disputed evidence as to whether any future care was
necessary or was degenerative or had any causal relationship to the
accident. The jury heard these witnesses
and decided that no future pain and suffering damage were caused by the
accident, after weighing the evidence.
The future economic damages appears consistent with the Defendant’s
expert who testified that Plaintiff, at most, needed some office visits and
some physical therapy. It is entirely consistent that the jury would not, after
weighing the disputed evidence including the experts, that Plaintiff was not
entitled to any future non-economic damages, notwithstanding Plaintiff’s
argument to the jury. CACI 107, 200,
219, 220, 221, 3905A,3927. (Deposition of Dr. Neil Chafetz.) The motion for a new trial is denied as
well as the motion for additur.
Plaintiff’s Motion to Tax Defendant’s Memorandum of Costs
(David Lacayo)
The plaintiff also moves to tax Defendant’s Memorandum of
Costs. Defendant’s seeking costs is based on Defendants’ rejection of the 998
offer to compromise of 75,000 and a jury verdict totaling $70,675.00.
Having reviewed the papers submitted by both sides, the
Court finds that Defendant’s 998 to David Lacayo is valid and sufficiently
certain. Defendant is entitled to his
post-offer costs.
Plaintiff’s Motion to Tax Defendant’s Memorandum of Costs
(Mireya Lacayo)
Defendant agrees that the court has discretion to award
Mireya reasonable post-998 offer expert costs but believes that they should be
divided between what Defendant is entitled from David Lacayo re costs and what
Plaintiff is entitled to from Mireya Lacayo.
The court would encourage counsel to meet and confer on these issues to
see if a resolution can be achieved.
The court will invite argument about the
Plaintiff’s motion to stay enforcement is denied.