Chapter 18 - § 18.2 • STANDARD FOR DECIDING MOTION FOR DIRECTED VERDICT|JUDGMENT AS A MATTER OF LAW

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 18.2 • STANDARD FOR DECIDING MOTION FOR DIRECTED VERDICT/JUDGMENT AS A MATTER OF LAW

Colorado

➢ General Rule; Reasonable Persons Would Not Disagree. When the evidence compels the conclusion that reasonable persons would not disagree, and no evidence has been presented that could sustain a verdict against the defendant, then the court should enter a directed verdict in favor of the defendant. See Mile Hi Concrete, Inc. v. Matz, 842 P.2d 198, 205 n. 14 (Colo. 1992); Montes v. Hyland Hills Park, 849 P.2d 852, 853 (Colo. App. 1992); Technical Computer Servs., Inc. v. Buckley, 844 P.2d 1249, 1252 (Colo. App. 1992).

➢ Evidence Considered in Light Most Favorable to Party Against Whom Directed. A court deciding a motion for directed verdict must consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the party against whom it is directed, and the strongest inferences reasonably deducible from the most favorable evidence should be indulged in his or her favor. Gossard v. Watson, 221 P.2d 353, 355 (Colo. 1950); Evans v. Webster, 832 P.2d 951, 954 (Colo. App. 1991).

➢ Motion Assumes Truth of Adversary's Evidence. A motion for directed verdict in a civil case "admits the truth of the adversary's evidence and of every favorable inference of fact that may be legitimately drawn from it." Western-Realco Ltd. v. Harrison, 791 P.2d 1139, 1146 (Colo. App. 1989); Salstrom v. Starke, 670 P.2d 809, 811 (Colo. App. 1983).

➢ Favorable Inferences Include Circumstantial Evidence. Reasonable inferences from the evidence can be drawn from circumstantial evidence. Kopeikin v. Merchants Mortg. & Trust Corp., 679 P.2d 599 (Colo. 1984).

➢ Directed Verdict Improper Where Plaintiff Makes a Prima Facie Case. When the defendant moves for directed verdict, the issue before the trial court is whether the plaintiff presented a prima facie case. The plaintiff presented evidence from which a reasonable jury could have concluded that the elements of a wrongful discharge had been met. Rocky Mountain Hosp. v. Mariani, 916 P.2d 519 (Colo. App. 1996); Romero v. Denver & Rio Grande W. Ry. Co., 514 P.2d 626, 628-29 (Colo. 1973).
➢ Granted in Only Clearest Case. A motion for a directed verdict should only be granted in the clearest of cases. McGlasson v. Barger, 431 P.2d 778, 779 (Colo. 1967).

➢ Standard for Statutory Auto Accident Threshold; Reasonable Persons Would Not Disagree. A directed verdict as to whether a statutory threshold has been reached is proper "only if the evidence regarding the

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