Kenton v. Hyatt Hotels Corp.

ROBERT G. DOWD, Special Judge.

Plaintiff, Kay Kenton, who had completed two years of law school obtained a jury verdict of $4,000,000 as compensatory damages for injuries sustained by the collapse of the suspended skywalks in the Hyatt Regency Hotel lobby, in Kansas City, Missouri, on July 17, 1981. On after-trial motions, the trial court concluded that the verdict was excessive and entered an order sustaining a motion for a new trial unless the plaintiff filed a remittitur of $250,000. Plaintiff-respondent accepted the remittitur but an appeal was perfected by appellants to the Court of…