Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc. v. Jordan

Summary

The Alabama Supreme Court reversed an order granting the plaintiffs a new trial after a jury verdict for Thomas Jefferson Foundation, holding that the plaintiffs waived any objection to the lack of insurance-related voir dire by failing to timely request or object to its omission. The court also affirmed judgment as a matter of law for the Foundation on the plaintiffs’ suppression claim, concluding that the claim was barred by Alabama’s 20-year rule of repose. The case was remanded with directions to reinstate the original judgment.

Holdings

1. The plaintiffs waived any challenge to the absence of voir dire concerning insurance because they did not timely object or request the voir dire and first raised the issue only in their motion for a new trial.
2. The trial court exceeded its discretion by granting the plaintiffs' motion for a new trial based on the lack of insurance-related voir dire; the judgment on the jury verdict for TJF must be reinstated.
3. The plaintiffs' suppression claim was barred by Alabama's 20-year rule of repose because the claim accrued, for repose purposes, no later than the conservation work performed in 1983 and 1984, more than 20 years before suit.
4. The trial court properly granted TJF's Rule 50(a) motion for judgment as a matter of law on the plaintiffs' suppression claim.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by granting the plaintiffs' motion for a new trial based on the absence of voir dire concerning insurance when the plaintiffs did not timely object or request such voir dire.
2. Whether the plaintiffs waived their right to challenge the lack of insurance-related voir dire by failing to exercise reasonable diligence and by inviting the alleged error.
3. Whether the plaintiffs' suppression claim was barred by Alabama's 20-year rule of repose.
4. Whether the trial court properly entered judgment as a matter of law for TJF on the suppression claim.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded