22.16 - A. Weight Of Evidence

• Jurisdiction: New York

a. Weight of Evidence

When the evidence was sufficient to present an issue of fact for jury resolution but the jury’s verdict is against the weight of the evidence, the verdict should be set aside and a new trial ordered. The case must be submitted to a new jury because in a jury case the courts do not have the power to resolve factual issues.³⁴⁰⁵

In considering whether to set aside a verdict as against the weight of the evidence, the court must view the proof in the light most favorable to the prevailing party.³⁴⁰⁶ It is the jury’s role to choose what portion of the evidence to accept and what inferences to draw therefrom,³⁴⁰⁷ and the court may not set aside the verdict merely because it would have reached a different result.³⁴⁰⁸ The courts frequently state that a verdict should be set aside as against the weight of the evidence only when the verdict cannot be supported “on any fair interpretation of the evidence.”³⁴⁰⁹

The test for setting aside a verdict is one that “involves what is in large part a discretionary balancing of many factors.”³⁴¹⁰ It was perhaps best explained by the court in Mann v. Hunt,³⁴¹¹ as follows:

The point of interference is not fixed on the

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