Lenards v. DeBoer

Summary

The South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Jill Lenards’s motion for a new trial after a jury returned a general verdict for John DeBoer in a negligence action arising from a motor-vehicle collision. The Court held that disputed causation and pain-and-suffering damages, together with the general verdict, precluded review of Lenards’s liability-related claims. A special concurrence stated that the unavoidable-accident jury instruction was improper but agreed that the judgment should be affirmed because the general verdict prevented determining the basis of the jury’s decision.

Holdings

1. The causation and amount of Lenards's claimed pain-and-suffering damages were disputed factual questions for the jury because the evidence could support a finding that her lower-back and leg symptoms were not caused by the collision.
2. When a general verdict could have been based on either a proper or an improper theory, the reviewing court assumes that the jury decided the case on the proper theory; where damages are disputed, the general verdict precludes review of liability issues.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the evidence was insufficient to support the jury's general verdict for DeBoer.
2. Whether the circuit court erred by instructing the jury that it could find the collision an unavoidable accident.
3. Whether Lenards was entitled to a directed verdict on liability.

Disposition

affirmed