HIRED - Ow.ly

BEING PROACTIVE IN MIXED DAMAGES CASES: RECENT CASES AND TRENDS Message from the Insurance Coverage Committee Chair, Michael M. Neltner: The following is a Content Piece by OACTA’s Insurance Coverage Committee and the first installment in a monthly series that OACTA will be publishing for the benefit of our members. All comments are welcome to the OACTA website, especially anything containing additional information from your experiences with this topic that can assist us in better representing our clients. Recently, Philadelphia lawyer and avid insurance coverage blogger, Randy Maniloff (whose blog, “Coverage Opinions: Judicial Opinions Today – Impact on Counsel’s Opinions Tomorrow” is highly recommended), highlighted the recent 8th Circuit decision in UnitedHealth Group v. Executive Risk Specialty Ins. Co., No. 15-1076 (8th Cir. Sept. 7, 2017), which was a mixed damages case that ultimately settled for $350 million. Without getting into the details of the case, which aren’t important here for the purposes of the present article, the take-away from the case (and Randy’s blog article) is how very important it is for an insurance coverage lawyer to STAY PROACTIVE – EARLY AND OFTEN – in these mixed damages cases or risk having the court enforce all of the damages (covered and noncovered) against your client, the insurer. I think we all know about the World Harvest case and how that message was reinforced by the Ohio courts at every level as that case wound its way through to the Ohio Supreme Court. Since it’s close to Halloween, for an even scarier case, see RSUI Indemnity Company v. New Horizon Kids Quest, Inc., 2017 WL 3382061 (D. Minn. Aug. 4, 2017). Interestingly, although many of us have been handling construction defect and mixed damages cases for many, many years now, most of us probably have never had any of these cases actually go to trial and jury verdict. So an added benefit of this article is that we will provide you with some very real (and tested) Jury Interrogatories which were recently used in a construction defect mixed damages case and which I want to share with you. Since this Ohio case IS relevant to this article, I want first to provide you with a brief description of the case but delete the parties for privacy purposes (although, of course, the case is a reported case so you can always look it up if you want to). This case, which was just decided in September of this year, was a construction defect case involving the installation of ornamental concrete floors in a $900,000.00 new home in Geauga County. So this case is another reason why I love my job -- because the old adage “always try to learn something new every day” -- certainly rings true with this profession and this particular case. And whatever you might think about putting a concrete floor in the living room of a $900,000.00 house (and these floors really are beautiful), this case also reinforces the ancient Roman maxim, “De gustibus non est disputandum.” The defendants were the general contractor who built the home and the subcontractor who installed the concrete floors. The issue was why the floors were cracking and spalling after

construction. The evidence presented at trial was that the general contractor installed the wrong subfloor (contrary to the recommendations of the subcontractor) and the floor suffered from too much movement, thus causing the cracking. Three separate insurers intervened in the action and filed Jury Interrogatories. Both the general contractor and the subcontractor were defended under reservation of rights. Note that by being proactive, this allows the insurer to do two things: (1) Assist the insureds who have done good work by being a second “me too” brief at the dispositive motion phase; and (2) Make sure the insurer/client doesn’t get stuck paying the bad claims. The case survived Mediation and was scheduled for trial shortly after the last insurer intervened. Coverage was bifurcated out from the tort case but it was still important to make sure the jury separated the covered damages from the non-covered damages in the tort trial so the insurers didn’t get “stuck” with the non-covered damages in a general verdict. Again, read RSUI Indemnity Company v. New Horizon Kids Quest, Inc., 2017 WL 3382061 (D. Minn. Aug. 4, 2017) to see what can happen if you don’t do this. As with all attempts at trying to get multiple attorneys to agree on anything, the attorneys went round and round with the Jury Interrogatories until finally all (sort of) agreed on the set that was given to the jury (see below). The challenge here, of course, is to craft Jury Interrogatories that are comprehensive enough to separate all of the covered and noncovered damages related to the work of BOTH the general and subcontractors on the job without confusing the jury and without allowing for the awarding of duplicate damages. While these Jury Interrogatories were not perfect and some duplication of damages perhaps did occur, they did get the job done. The jury ultimately determined that the subcontractor was not negligent at all and they awarded $0.00 damages against it. They found the Plaintiffs 20% comparatively negligent and awarded damages in the amount of $175,000.00 against the general contractor. The case was settled shortly after the jury verdict. So this case reinforces the importance of being proactive in these mixed damages cases. Of course, you can’t intervene in all of them but generally if it looks like the case has relatively high value and the non-covered damages are going to greatly exceed your covered damages, it is well worth the time and expense to intervene. Courts are generally open and receptive as long as the intervention is done respectfully (mind the Court’s existing deadlines) and you don’t seek to intervene too close to the trial date. Now here are the actual (edited) Jury Interrogatories from the Verdict Forms:

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS GEAUGA COUNTY, OHIO {PLAINTIFF} et al. Plaintiffs v. {GENERAL CONTRACTOR} et al. Defendants

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "A"

Do you find by the greater weight of the evidence that {General contractor} breached the contract with {Plaintiff(s)}? or

NO

CIRCLE YOUR ANSWER IN INK

YES

1) SIX JURORS SIGNED AS “YES”

5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to A is "yes," move to Interrogatory B. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to A is "no,": •

Do not answer the remaining Interrogatories, and

•

Sign the General Verdict for {General contractor}, and

•

Report to the Court that you have completed your deliberations.

If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory A, then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "B"

Was {General contractor}'s breach of contract the direct and proximate cause of any damages to {Plaintiff(s)}? CIRCLE YOUR ANSWER IN INK

1)

YES

or

NO

SIX JURORS SIGNED AS “YES” 5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to A is "yes," move to Interrogatory C. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to B is "no,": •


•


•


If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory B, then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "C"

State the total amount of damages owed to {Plaintiff(s)} for {General contractor}' s breach of contract. STATE YOUR ANSWER IN FIGURES IN INK

$ 17,500.00

1) SIX JURORS SIGNED

5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above.

If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory C, then report this to the Court. Then, you must now move to Interrogatory D.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "D"

Was {Subcontractor} negligent? CIRCLE YOUR ANSWER IN INK

YES

or

NO

1) EIGHT JURORS SIGNED AS “NO” 5) _____________________________ 2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to D is "yes," move to Interrogatory E. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to D is "no," move to Interrogatory D(1). If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory D, then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "D(1)"

Do you find by the greater weight of the evidence that {Subcontractor} breached its duty to perform in a workm anlike manner? CIRCLE YOUR ANSWER IN INK

YES

or

NO


6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to D(1) is "yes," move to Interrogatory E. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to D(1) is "no,": •


•

Sign the General Verdict for {Subcontractor}, and

•


If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory D(1), then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "E"

If you found that {Subcontractor} was negligent, did that negligence directly and proximately cause any of the damages to {Plaintiff(s)}? or

NO


YES

1) ___________________________

5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to E is "yes," move to Interrogatory F. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to E is "no," answer the remaining Interrogatories. If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory E, then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "F"

Do you find by the greater weight of the evidence that {General contractor} breached its duty to perform in a workmanlike manner? CIRCLE YOUR ANSWER IN INK

YES

or

NO

1) SEVEN JURORS SIGNED AS “YES” 5) _____________________________ 2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to F is "yes," move to Interrogatory G. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to F is "no,": •


•


•


If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory F, then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "G"

Was {General contractor}'s breach of its duty to perform in a workmanlike manner the direct and proximate cause of any damages to {Plaintiff(s)}? CIRCLE YOUR ANSWER IN INK

YES

or

NO

1) SEVEN JURORS SIGNED AS “YES”5) _____________________________ 2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to G is "yes," move to Interrogatory H. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to G is "no,": •


•


•


If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory G, then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "H"

State the total amount of damages owed to {Plaintiff(s)} from {General contractor}'s breach of its duty to perform in a workmanlike manner. STATE YOUR ANSWER IN FIGURES IN INK

$ 70,000.00


5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory H, then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "H(1)"

State the total amount of damages owed to {Plaintiff(s)} from {Subcontractor}'s breach of its duty to perform in a workmanlike manner. STATE YOUR ANSWER IN FIGURES IN INK

$______________________

1) ___________________________

5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory H(1), then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "I"

Do you find by the greater weight of the evidence that {General contractor} was negligent in constructing the {Plaintiff(s)}’s home? CIRCLE YOUR ANSWER IN INK

YES

or

NO

1) EIGHT JURORS SIGNED AS “YES” 5) _____________________________ 2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to I is "yes," move to Interrogatory J. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to I is "no,": •


•


•


If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory I, then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "J"

Was {General contractor}'s negligence in constructing the {Plaintiff(s)}’s home the direct and proximate cause of any damages to {Plaintiff(s)}? CIRCLE YOUR ANSWER IN INK

YES

or

NO

1) EIGHT JURORS SIGNED AS “YES” 5) _____________________________ 2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to J is "yes," move to Interrogatory K. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to J is "no,": •


•


•

Report to the Court that you have completed your deliberations .

If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory J, then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "K"

State the total amount of damages owed to {Plaintiff(s)} for {General contractor}'s negligence in constructing the {Plaintiff(s)}’s home.

STATE YOUR ANSWER IN FIGURES IN INK

$ 70,000.00


5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________


If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory K, then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "L"

Do you find by the greater weight of the evidence that {General contractor} breached its express and implied warranties? or

NO


YES

1) SIX JURORS SIGNED AS “NO”

5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to L is "yes," move to Interrogatory M. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to L is "no,": •

Do not answer-the remaining Interrogatories, and

•


•


If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory L, then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "M"

Was {General contractor}'s breach of its express and implied warranties the direct and proximate cause of any damages to {Plaintiff(s)}? or

NO


YES

1) ___________________________

5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to M is "yes," move to Interrogatory N. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to M is "no,": •


•


•


If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory M, then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "N"

State the total amount of damages owed to {Plaintiff(s)} for {General contractor}' s breach of its express and implied warranties. STATE YOUR ANSWER IN FIGURES IN INK

or

$______________________

NO


YES

1) ___________________________

5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory N, then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "O"

Do you find by the greater weight of the evidence that {General contractor} negligently hired, retained and supervised {Subcontractor}? CIRCLE YOUR ANSWER IN INK

YES

or

NO


6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to O is "yes," move to Interrogatory P. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to O is "no,": •


•


•


If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory O, then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "P"

Was {General contractor} negligent hiring, retention and supervision of {Subcontractor} the direct and proximate cause of any damages to {Plaintiff(s)}? or

NO


YES

1) ___________________________

5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to P is "yes," move to Interrogatory Q. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to P is "no,":

•


•


•

Report to the Court that you have completed your deliberations .

If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory P, then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "Q"

State the total amount of damages owed to {Plaintiff(s)} for {General contractor}'s negligent hiring, retention and supervision of {Subcontractor}. STATE YOUR ANSWER IN FIGURES IN INK

or

$______________________

NO


YES

1) ___________________________

5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________


If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory Q, then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "R"

In answering this Interrogatory R about the percentages of negligence that directly and proximately caused damage to {Plaintiff(s)}, please observe the following: •

Only those jurors who answered "yes" to Interrogatories B, C, F and G are qualified to participate in answering Interrogatory R;

• •

If less than six jurors are qualified to answer R, report this to the Court; and If six jurors who are qualified cannot agree on an answer to R, report this to the Court.

STATE THE PERCENTAGE EACH PARTY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DAMAGES OF {Plaintiff(s)}: Percentage attributable to {Plaintiff(s)} ................................

20 %

Percentage attributable to {Subcontractor}…………………

0 %

Percentage attributable to {General contractor} ...........

80 %

These percentages must equal the total of ...........................

100%

Go to the next page.


5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory R, then report this to the Court.

If the percentage attributed to {Plaintiff(s)} AND {Subcontractor} is 50% or less, •

Sign the General Verdict for {Plaintiff(s)}.

•

Answer the remaining Interrogatories.

If the percentage attributable to {Plaintiff(s)} AND {Subcontractor} is greater than 50%, •

Sign the General Verdict for {General contractor}.

•



) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "S"

State the total amount of damages, if any, you award Plaintiffs for loss of use of Property. STATE YOUR ANSWER IN FIGURES IN INK

$ 17,500.00


5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________


If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory S, then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "T"

State the amount of {Plaintiff(s)}’s damages, if any, that constitute damages related to {Subcontractor}'s failure to install the epoxy floor in the first floor of the {Plaintiff(s)}’s House in a workmanlike manner. STATE YOUR ANSWER IN FIGURES IN INK

$

-0-

1) EIGHT JURORS SIGNED

5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________


If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory T, then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "U"

State the amount of {Plaintiff(s)}'s damages, if any, that constitute damages related to {Subcontractor}'s failure to install the epoxy floor in the basement of the {Plaintiff(s)}’s house in a workmanlike manner. STATE YOUR ANSWER IN FIGURES IN INK

$

-0-

1) SEVEN JURORS SIGNED

5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above interrogatory U, then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "V"

State the amount of {Plaintiff(s)}’s damages, if any, that constitute damages to property other than the epoxy floors in the first floor and basement of the {Plaintiff(s)}’s house (other parts of the house, furniture, and other personal belongings of the {Plaintiff(s)}, etc.) related to {Subcontractor}'s failure to install the epoxy floors, in the {Plaintiff(s)}’s house in a workmanlike manner. STATE YOUR ANSWER IN FIGURES IN INK

$

-0-


5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________


If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to the above Interrogatory V, then report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "W"

If you find that {Plaintiff(s)} suffered damages that constitute damages to property other than the epoxy floors in the first floor and basement of the {Plaintiff(s)}’s house due to {Subcontractor}'s failure to install the epoxy floors in the {Plaintiff(s)}’s house in a workmanlike manner, please identify and list the damages and, by date, when the damage(s) occurred.

_________________________N/A__________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 1) ___________________________

5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to this Interrogatory W, report this to the Court.

I


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "X"

To the extent that you have found that Plaintiffs are entitled to recover damages for property damage from Defendants {General contractor}, have Plaintiffs proven by a preponderance of the evidence any damage to property other than the {General contractor}'s work itself, in other words, that there are no damages to the property of Plaintiffs other than the remediation of the epoxy floor system? CIRCLE YOUR ANSWER IN INK

YES

or

NO


6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to this Interrogatory X, report this to the Court. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to the foregoing Interrogatory X is yes, move to Interrogatory Y. If the answer of six (6) or more jurors to the foregoing Interrogatory X is no, do not answer the next Interrogatory Y.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "Y"

State the amount of property damage caused by Defendant {General contractor} to property OTHER than the Epoxy floor system. STATE YOUR ANSWER IN FIGURES IN INK

$______________________

1) ___________________________

5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to this Interrogatory Y, report this to the Court. Please proceed to Jury Interrogatory Z.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE JURY INTERROGATORY "Z"

State the nature of the property damage (referred to in Interrogatory X and Y) caused by Defendant {General contractor} to property OTHER than the epoxy floor system. ___________________________N/A________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

1) ___________________________

5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. If six (6) jurors cannot agree on an answer to this Interrogatory Z, report this to the Court.


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE GENERAL VERDICT FOR {PLAINTIFF(S)}, ET. AL.

We, the jury, do hereby find for {Plaintiff(s)} and we find that the total amount of damages is $ 175,000.00 , as indicated in Interrogatories C, H, H(1 ), K, N, Q and S. STATE YOUR ANSWER IN FIGURES IN INK

$175,000.00

1) _ SIX JURORS SIGNED

5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Six or more jurors must sign above. Use this form for {Plaintiff(s)} if you find that by the greater weight of the evidence, {General contractor} breached the contract and caused damages to {Plaintiff(s)} (Interrogatories A and B) AND that {Subcontractor} were not also negligent or were 50% negligent or less (Interrogatory D). Use this form for {Plaintiff(s)} if you find by the greater weight of the evidence, {General contractor} breached its duty to complete its work in a workmanlike manner and caused damages to Everett (Interrogatories F and G). Use this form for {Plaintiff(s)} if you find by the greater weight of the evidence, {General contractor} was negligent and caused damages to {Plaintiff(s)} (Interrogatories I and J).

Use this form for {Plaintiff(s)} if you find by the greater weight of the evidence, {General contractor} breached express and implied warranties and caused damages to {Plaintiff(s)} (Interrogatories L and M). Use this form for {Plaintiff(s)} if you find by the greater weight of the evidence, {General contractor} negligently hired, retained and supervised {Subcontractor} and caused damages to {Plaintiff(s)} (Interrogatories O and P).


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE GENERAL VERDICT FOR {GENERAL CONTRACTOR}

We, the jury, do hereby find for {General contractor}.

1) ___________________________

5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________

Use this form if you find that {General contractor} did not breach the contract or if it did, the breach of contract did not cause damage to {Plaintiff(s)} (Interrogatories A and B) OR if {Subcontractor} was negligent and that negligence was at least 50% responsible for {Plaintiff(s)}’s damages (Interrogatory D). Use this form if you find that {General contractor} did not breach its duty to complete its work in a workmanlike manner, or if it did, the breach did not cause damage to {Plaintiff(s)} (Interrogatories F and G). Use this form if you find that {General contractor} was not negligent, or if it was, its negligence did not cause damage to {Plaintiff(s)} (Interrogatories I and J). Use this form if you find that {General contractor} did not breach express and implied warranties, or if it did, the breach did not cause damages to {Plaintiff(s)} (Interrogatories L and M). Use this form if you find that {General contractor} did not negligently hire, retain and supervise {Subcontractor}, or if it did, the negligence did not cause damages to {Plaintiff(s)} (Interrogatories O and P).


) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. 123456789 JUDGE GENERAL VERDICT FOR {SUBCONTRACTOR}

We, the jury, do hereby find for {Subcontractor}.


5) _____________________________

2) ___________________________

6) _____________________________

3) ___________________________

7) _____________________________

4) ___________________________

8) _____________________________