Chapter 19 - § 19.9 • GENERAL AND SPECIAL VERDICTS

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 19.9 • GENERAL AND SPECIAL VERDICTS

Colorado

➢ General. It is up to the trial court to determine whether to ask a jury to return a special verdict "in the form of a special written finding upon each issue of fact," and if the court does that, it has considerable discretion in determining the appropriate method of submitting the case to the jury for those written findings. However, "[i]f in so doing the court omits any issue of fact raised by the pleadings or by the evidence, each party waives his right to a trial by jury of the issue so omitted unless before the jury retires he demands its submission to the jury. As to an issue omitted without such demand the court may make a finding; or, if it fails to do so, it shall be deemed to have made a finding in accord with the judgment on the special verdict." C.R.C.P. 49(a). The court may opt instead for a general verdict, accompanied by "written interrogatories upon one or more issues of fact, the decision of which is necessary to a verdict," again, with considerable discretion to determine how those questions are to be submitted to the jury. If the general verdict and the responses to the questions are "harmonious," judgment can enter pursuant to C.R.C.P. 58. Where there is any inconsistency either among the interrogatory answers or as between one or more answers and the general verdict, "judgment shall not be entered, but the court shall return the jury for further consideration of its answers and verdict or shall order a new trial." C.R.C.P. 49(b).
➢ General; Colorado Jury Instructions. Forms for general verdicts and sample special verdict forms may be found in Chapter 4 of the Colorado Jury Instructions. Certain claims and scenarios that require special verdicts are also identified throughout the pattern instructions. See, e.g., CJI-Civ. 9:24 and 9:27-9:29B, for determining individual and several liability among defendants on a comparative basis, both where comparative negligence is and is not an issue; 9:22, 9:23, and 9:26-9:26D (Comparative Negligence with Single Defendant) and 14:30-14:33B (Product Liability — Comparative Fault) (CLE ed. 2018).

➢ General; Special Verdict. Special verdict forms and the instructions that go with them assist a jury with its deliberations; signing a verdict form acknowledges the verdict as the product of each juror's deliberation. Stewart v. Rice, 47 P.3d 316, 322 (Colo. 2002).

➢ Special Verdict; Comparative Negligence. The use of the special verdict is an integral part of the comparative negligence doctrine and procedure. Felder v. Union P. R.R., 660 P.2d 911, 913 (Colo. App. 1982).

➢ General Verdict Inadvisable Where Multiple Claims. A general verdict entered on distinct issues could not be sustained if one of the issues should not have been submitted to the jury, particularly where timely and specific

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