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12. Should the court enter judgment according to the jury's verdict?
After a four-day trial, the judge instructed the jury to issue a verdict and answer three written questions: (i) was there a valid contract; (ii) did the merchant breach the contract; and (iii) was the importer entitled to damages for breach of the contract? The jury answered «no» to the first question and «yes» to the last two. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the importer but awarded him no damages. None of the parties filed any post-verdict motions.
An importer filed a proper diversity lawsuit against a merchant in State A federal court, seeking damages for breach of contract. The merchant argued that the contract was invalid on the grounds of incapacity and that the importer would not have been entitled to damages under the contract in any event.
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Under FRCP 49(b), three scenarios are possible:
(i) if the facts are consistent with the verdict, the verdict will be entered;
(ii) if the findings of fact are inconsistent with the verdict, the judge may:
enter a judgment consistent with the interrogatory answers, notwithstanding the general verdict;direct the jury to deliberate further; ororder a new trial; OR (iii) if the answers are inconsistent with each other AND the verdict entered, the judge must send the case back to the jury for further deliberation or order a new trial.
C is correct. The jury's answers to the written questions are inconsistent with one another and its verdict: the jury found both that there was no contract and that the merchant breached the contract. The jury also found that the importer was entitled to damages, yet awarded him none. These answers are inconsistent with both each other and the general verdict.
As a result, this fact pattern implicates FRCP 49(b), which prohibits a judge from entering the jury's judgment and provides the court with two options: (i) direct the jury to further consider its answers and verdict; or (ii) order a new trial. Therefore, the court may order a new trial in this case for the reason stated above.
A is incorrect. As stated above, the jury has entered an erroneous verdict due to its inconsistent determinations. Therefore, the court may not enter the jury's judgment.
B is incorrect. The court has no obligation under any statute or federal rule to enter an erroneous verdict. This answer choice would make courts beholden to incorrect verdicts, which would not be in the interest of the courts.
D is incorrect. The court may not enter a judgment notwithstanding the verdict because the jury's answers are internally inconsistent with each other and with the verdict. The only options available to the court in this scenario are to ask the jury to deliberate further or order a new trial.