Product Liability -- 2018



General Motors LLC v. Bavlsik   (U.S. Supreme Court)

Opposing damages-only retrial after impermissible compromise verdict

The NAM filed an amicus brief in support of General Motors in a case involving the standards a court must apply to require a new trial when the previous trial ended in a “compromise verdict.” Compromise verdicts arise when a jury cannot agree on the defendant’s liability but, out of sympathy for the plaintiff, the jury awards the plaintiff a small monetary damages award. In this case, a jury rendered a compromise verdict in a product liability case against GM, and the court ordered a new trial but only on the question of damages (rather than liability). A damages-only retrial by a new jury could result in a massive and improper damages award. The NAM’s amicus brief argues against damages-only retrials in circumstances such as this. The Supreme Court denied certiorari.


Related Documents:
NAM brief  (April 2, 2018)