In re E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

Summary

The Supreme Court of Texas conditionally granted E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company's petition for writ of mandamus. The Court held that the trial court abused its discretion by granting a new trial after a defense jury verdict without specifying the reasons for disregarding the verdict. The Court directed the trial court to state those reasons and denied without prejudice DuPont's request for further relief.

Holdings

1. A trial court abuses its discretion and acts arbitrarily when it disregards a jury verdict and grants a new trial without specifically and reasonably stating the reasons for doing so.
2. The Court declined to review the asserted grounds for the new-trial motion because the trial court might have granted the motion on grounds other than those asserted in the motion.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by granting a new trial without specifically stating its reasons for disregarding the jury verdict.
2. Whether the Supreme Court of Texas should independently review the asserted grounds for the new-trial motion to determine whether granting a new trial on any of those grounds would constitute an abuse of discretion.

Disposition

writ_granted