Miami, FL Personal Injury Law Firms & Lawyers

In most states, one cannot appeal a jury verdict regarding questions of fact decided by the jury. What I mean by that is you cannot ask an appellate court to weigh the evidence and make its own determination of the facts in question. Rather, you can only appeal questions of law that the judge rules on during the trial. In a trial, the judge does not determine issues regarding the facts that are disputed (such as who ran the red light, is the Plaintiff really hurt, or is he faking, did the defendant soot the victim, or is the eye witness mistaken). The facts of the case are decided by the jury. The judge makes rulings on legal questions, such a what evidence should be admitted, and what evidence should be excludes. A litigant is only allowed to appeal the judge's rulings on questions of law. Examples might include the Judge's ruling to admit certain evidence over the objection of a party, or a Judge's decision to exclude evidence; the Judge's jury charge or instructions to the jury (that is you might argue that the judge instructed the jury incorrectly on the law); the Judge's decision to deny summary judgment or to deny a directed verdict. These last two (summary judgment and directed verdict) are similar to asking the appellate court to make a decision on questions of fact based on weighing the evidence. In civil cases, a party can bring a motion for summary judgment. Both sides present their evidence to the judge in the form of sworn witness statements and provide any physical evidence the parties intend to introduce at trial, such as photographs or other documents. The side bringing the Motion for Summary Judgment must show that based on all of the evidence, taking the evidence in a light most favorable to the other party, there is no question of fact for a jury to determine. By taking the evidence in a light most favorable to the other side, where witnesses differ on the facts, the judge must assume the witness who favor the non-moving party are telling the truth. Essentially, the court must find, based on the facts that the parties agree upon, there are no facts supporting the non-moving parties case. An example might be where a plaintiff is suing a defendant for damages from a wreck and all witness say the Plaintiff ran the red light, even the plaintiff says he ran the red light, but the Plaintiff still maintains it was the defendant's fault because the defendant had a suspended license, the court could grant summary judgment to the Defendant because having a suspended license is not evidence that the Defendant was at fault in causing the accident. A motion for directed verdict is similar. At the end of Plaintiff's case in a civil trial, or at the end of the State's case in a criminal trial, the other side can make a motion for a directed verdict in favor of the defendant, which the court can grant only if, based on the evidence taken in a light most favorable to the Plaintiff, or the state, that there is no question of fact for the jury to determine. If parties were allowed to appeal juries' decisions regarding questions of fact, it would undermine our system of trial by jury to such a degree that there essentially would no longer be a right to a trial by jury. Ultimately, questions of fact would be determined by judges. This is because jury verdicts would be mere recommendations that appellate courts (judges) could review an overturn. In any case, the losing party could submit the evidence to an appellate judge, or a panel of appellate judges, to weigh and make their own determination. This is why you can appeal only rulings on questions of law, not questions of fact.

If you knew this woman well enough to be messin' with her salad, you should have known about the dog scenario. However, knowing her dog was a wild one, she should have warned you. Both to blame. 50% Judgment for the Plaintiff. You were careless and the dog escaped. It is foreseeable that the dog could be struck by a car. She should have warned you about the dogs.

If the value of the horse was less than $5,000, you can seek financial compensation in small claims court. If you want the horse back, you would have to file in circuit court to obtain the equitable relief you are seeking.