In a case that is surely headed to the New Mexico Court of Appeals, District Judge Francis Mathew yesterday denied FedEx’s post-judgment motions seeking to overturn the astounding $165.5 million verdict that a Santa Fe jury returned in a wrongful death case.
You can read about the ruling in this story by Robert Nott in the Santa Fe New Mexican.
According to the story, the trial court determined that there was no indication that the jury reached its verdict through passion and prejudice. But the jury awarded $165.5 million in compensatory damages for a wrongful death case, which is excessive by any standard. If this wasn’t a runaway jury, it’s hard to imagine what would be.
