Jackson v. Home Depot
A pipe fell from overhead shelving and struck plaintiff and appellant David Jackson (plaintiff), an employee of Washington Inventory (Washington), while he was performing inventory services for defendant and respondent The Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. (Home Depot). He sued Home Depot for negligence and obtained a $937,000 jury verdict. Home Depot moved for a new trial under Code of Civil Procedure section 657 (section 657), contending that the trial court erred when it granted a directed verdict on the issue of plaintiffs comparative negligence. The trial court agreed with Home Depot and issued an order granting a new trial.
On appeal, plaintiff contends that the trial court erroneously granted the new trial motion because, given the total lack of evidence showing that plaintiff acted unreasonably, the directed verdict on the issue of plaintiffs comparative negligence was correct as a matter of law. Based on our independent review of the evidence, we hold that there was sufficient evidence from which a reasonable juror could have inferred that plaintiff acted unreasonably in light of a known risk. The directed verdict on the issue of plaintiffs comparative negligence was therefore erroneous and that legal error warranted a new trial. Accordingly, Court affirm the trial courts order granting a new trial.
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