Atlantic Tobacco Co. v. Honeycutt

DUNCAN, Judge.

The only issue presented on this appeal is whether the trial court erred in directing a verdict for Joseph and Barbara Honeycutt. We hold that the trial court did commit error in directing a verdict in favor of Joseph Honeycutt, but did not err in directing a verdict in favor of Barbara Honeycutt.

Preliminarily, we note that where the question of whether to grant a directed verdict is a close one, it is the better practice for the trial court to allow the case to be submitted to the jury. Manganello v. Permastone, Inc., 291 N.C. 666, 669-70, 231 S.E.2d 678, 680 (1977). In that…