A plaintiff sued a defendant in federal court for breach of contract. Following trial, the jury returned a general verdict in favor of the plaintiff. The defendant believes that the verdict was not supported by sufficient evidence and that errors in the jury instructions misled the jury on a critical issue. What is the BEST procedural step the defendant should take to address these concerns?
File a renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL), arguing that no reasonable jury could have reached the verdict.
Request a court-ordered reconsideration of the jury’s reasoning and verdict.
File a motion for a new trial, citing insufficient evidence and jury instruction errors.
File a notice of appeal challenging the jury’s verdict in the appellate court.
The best procedural step is to file a motion for a new trial under Rule 59 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This motion allows the court to reassess the case based on claims of insufficient evidence or errors in the jury instructions. These grounds are appropriate for seeking a new trial and provide the trial court with the opportunity to correct any prejudicial errors. Filing a renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) under Rule 50(b) is another procedural option post-verdict. However, a JMOL motion is typically granted only if the evidence at trial was so overwhelmingly one-sided that no reasonable jury could have reached the verdict. The phrasing of the fact pattern does not indicate this level of certainty, making it less appropriate than a motion for a new trial. Filing a notice of appeal directly is premature because federal courts generally require litigants to exhaust available post-trial motions before seeking appellate review.
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What is the difference between a motion for a new trial and a motion for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL)?