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Keywords

tortplaintiffdefendantdamagesstatutetrialstatute of limitationssustainedjury trialcredibility

plaintiffdefendantdamagesaffidavitfelonypunitive damagescredibility

Related Cases

Skousen v. Nidy, 90 Ariz. 215, 367 P.2d 248

Facts

Mariam Nidy, a 65-year-old woman, was employed as a caretaker at D. P. Skousen's Kourt Karem Trailer Park in Phoenix. During her employment, Skousen made several indecent assaults on her, including attempts to seduce her and physical aggression. Nidy resisted these assaults, and the incidents continued until her discharge in March 1957. Following a jury trial, Nidy was awarded damages for the injuries she sustained from these assaults.

The facts in the light most favorable to sustaining the judgment are: The plaintiff, a woman about sixty-five years of age, was employed by the defendant in September 1955 in the capacity of caretaker of defendant's Kourt Karem Trailer Park in Phoenix. During the course of such employment the defendant at various times made, with force and violence, indecent assaults upon the plaintiff.

Issue

The main legal issues included whether the trial court erred in allowing certain evidence regarding the defendant's disbarment and misconduct, the applicability of the statute of limitations, and whether the damages awarded were excessive.

The defendant has set out eight assignments of error for our consideration.

Rule

The court held that questions regarding a witness's truthfulness and credibility, including past misconduct, are permissible for impeachment purposes. Additionally, the court ruled that the statute of limitations for personal injury claims applies, and that mental suffering can be considered in awarding damages for intentional torts.

In this case it would have been proper for the plaintiff in attempting to impeach the defendant for truth and veracity and credibility to have gone further in questioning the defendant by showing that he had been convicted of a felony for making a false affidavit.

Analysis

The court found that the plaintiff's inquiry into the defendant's past misconduct was appropriate for impeachment, as it related to his credibility. The court also determined that the plaintiff's complaint sufficiently stated a cause of action for assault and battery, allowing for the application of a two-year statute of limitations. Furthermore, the court noted that damages for mental suffering are valid in cases of intentional torts, which justified the jury's award.

A review of the record shows that it was the defendant himself who brought out these latter facts to overcome the impeaching question.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the lower court, concluding that the trial court did not err in its evidentiary rulings or in applying the statute of limitations, and that the damages awarded were not excessive.

Judgment affirmed.

Who won?

The plaintiff, Mariam Nidy, prevailed in the case due to the jury's finding of sufficient evidence supporting her claims of indecent assault and the court's affirmation of the damages awarded.

The jury made an award of $3,500 actual damages and $1,500 punitive damages for the plaintiff.

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