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Keywords

settlementplaintiffdefendantdamagesnegligenceappealverdicttestimony
plaintiffdefendantdamagesnegligencestatuteappellantappellee

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Garcia v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 209 F.3d 1170, 46 Fed.R.Serv.3d 441, 00 CJ C.A.R. 2100

Facts

On January 25, 1995, Mary Garcia was shopping at Wal-Mart when she was struck by a cart pushed by a Wal-Mart employee, causing her to fall and injure her back. Garcia had a pre-existing condition of chronic degenerative disc disease, and while some medical professionals suggested her pain might be psychological, others acknowledged the physical injury from the incident. Following the accident, Garcia was unable to continue operating her burrito business due to physical limitations, leading to significant economic losses.

On January 25, 1995, appellee/cross-appellant Garcia and her husband went shopping at Wal–Mart. While Garcia searched for film in one of the aisles, she was hit by a cart pushed by a Wal–Mart employee and knocked to the floor, hurting her back, which had already been causing her pain before the incident.

Issue

Did the district court err in declining to instruct the jury on mitigation and apportionment of damages, and did it improperly deny Garcia's claim for actual costs under Colorado law?

We must determine whether the district court erred in declining to instruct the jury on the issues of mitigation and apportionment of damages and in failing to award Garcia “actual costs” pursuant to a Colorado cost-shifting statute, Colo.Rev.Stat. § 13–17–202(1)(a)(I) (1999).

Rule

Under Colorado law, a defendant can only be liable for damages caused by their negligence if the jury can separate those damages from any pre-existing conditions. Additionally, a plaintiff may be awarded actual costs if a settlement offer is rejected and the plaintiff recovers more than the offer.

Colorado law provides that when a defendant can demonstrate that a separable portion of a plaintiff's disability is traceable to a pre-existing condition, the defendant is liable for only that portion caused by his or her negligence.

Analysis

The court found that Wal-Mart failed to object to the omission of the mitigation instruction before the jury retired, and thus could not claim error on that basis. Furthermore, the court determined that there was insufficient evidence to support an apportionment instruction, as the medical testimony did not clearly separate Garcia's pre-existing condition from the injuries caused by Wal-Mart's negligence. The court concluded that the district court's refusal to give these instructions did not result in fundamental injustice.

Because Wal–Mart did not object to the court's failure to give the mitigation of damages instruction before the jury retired, and because the absence of such an instruction did not result in a fundamental injustice, we reject Wal–Mart's claim that the district court erred by not instructing on mitigation.

Conclusion

The Court of Appeals affirmed the jury's verdict in favor of Garcia but reversed the district court's decision regarding the denial of actual costs, remanding the case for a determination of those costs under Colorado law.

The decision of the district court is AFFIRMED in part, REVERSED in part, and REMANDED to the district court to determine and award “actual costs” to Garcia in accordance with this opinion.

Who won?

Mary Garcia prevailed in the case, as the jury awarded her damages for her injuries and the Court of Appeals upheld that decision while also allowing for the recovery of actual costs.

The jury awarded damages to Garcia in the amount of $75,000 for non-economic losses, $268,000 for economic losses, and $7,000 for physical impairment or disfigurement, for a total award of $350,000.

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