BILL NUMBER: S8625
SPONSOR: MYRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to setting
the level of deference given by the appellate division to the jury's
fact finding
 
PURPOSE:
To amend the civil practice law and rules in relation to the level of
deference by the appellate division to the jury's fact finding.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends subdivision (c) of section 5501 of the civil practice
law and rules Section 2 sets forth the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Article I, § 2 of the New York Constitution preserves the right to trial
by jury in cases where it existed at common law and historically, deter-
mining the amount of damages has been a core function of the civil jury.
Respect for this core function is present in our federal courts and most
state systems: federally, the Seventh Amendment to the United States
Constitution prevents appellate courts from re-examining facts found by
a jury, and consequently, those courts review damages reductions only
for abuse of discretion. Many other states, including New Jersey, Mary-
land, Nebraska, Washington, Pennsylvania, and Michigan follow a similar
standard, only disturbing a jury award when it is so unreasonable as to
"shock the conscience" or is otherwise "grossly excessive" or "inade-
quate."
New York used to follow this standard as well. But in 1986, the state
departed from the approach taken by most states and the federal courts,
and instead codified a lower, more subjective "deviates materially"
standard that has allowed for jury verdicts to be replaced routinely by
New York appellate courts. This bill aims to correct this incongruity
and return New York to the standard observed throughout the rest of the
country and which New York itself observed for generations.
This bill does not eliminate appellate review or insulate outrageous
verdicts. Under the bill's proposed standard, appellate courts still act
as a safeguard and defendants may still appeal. This bill simply
restores a core function back to the jury, allowing those closest to the
facts of the case to determine damages when their fellow New Yorkers
suffer injury.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all actions
filed on or after such date.

Statutes affected:
S8625: 5501 civil practice law