Staples v. UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY

The plaintiff obtained a $66,000 verdict in a Federal Employers Liability Act case in which the defendant railroad admitted liability. The defendant’s principal contention on appeal is that the verdict was excessive and the trial court erred in refusing to grant a remittitur or, in the alternative, a new trial.

This is an action brought under a federal statute; therefore, federal substantive law applies and the trial court has the authority to make a remittitur. Rust v. Moore-McCormick Lines, Inc., 180 Or 409, 436, 177 P2d 429 (1947).

We have found that the federal law has changed since Rust…