Mogensen v. SCF Lewis and Clark Fleeting, LLC

Plaintiff filed a lawsuit under the Jones Act for injuries he suffered while working as a crew member on a barge owned and operated by the defendant. The trial court directed a verdict in favor of the plaintiff as a sanction for the defendant’s attorney revealing the substance of trial testimony to a witness and defendant appealed. On appeal, defendant argued that the trial court committed reversible error by imposing the sanction of striking the pleadings, that the court committed multiple evidentiary errors, and the jury’s award of non-economic damages was excessive and unsupported by the evidence. The appellate court affirmed, finding that the trial court’s imposition of sanctions was not excessive where the defendant violated its own motion and where the motion was clear and concise. The appellate court also held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in the admission of evidence that the jury’s award was not unfair or unreasonable and that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied defendant’s motion for remittitur. (McHANEY and CATES, concurring)