22.14 - 1. Judgment Notwithstanding The Verdict

JurisdictionNew York

1. Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict

The trial court may set aside a jury verdict and “direct that judgment be entered in favor of a party entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”3395 Such relief, which is the equivalent of a directed verdict, is rarely granted because the circumstances warranting such relief are rare. The test, as described by the N.Y. Court of Appeals in Cohen v. Hallmark Cards, Inc.,3396 requires the judge “to first conclude that there is simply no valid line of reasoning and permissible inferences which could possibly lead rational men to the conclusion reached by the jury on the basis of the evidence presented at trial.”3397

Judgment notwithstanding the verdict (also called judgment n.o.v.) is inappropriate when issues of credibility are involved3398 or when the verdict is merely against the weight of the evidence, in which case the granting of a new trial is the appropriate remedy.3399

On moving for judgment n.o.v., the movant must assume as true the facts about which the opposing party’s witnesses testified and must also grant the opposing party every favorable inference flowing from the evidence.3400 The argument essentially is that, even accepting all its claims as true, the party as a matter of law may not prevail.

For example, judgment will be directed against a plaintiff when some element of the cause of action has not...

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