Bishop v. Kelly

The dispositive issue in this appeal is whether General Statutes § 14-295,1 which allows a trial *610court to double or treble the damages awarded by a jury in tort actions involving violations of the rules of the road, infringes the right to trial by jury under the Connecticut constitution. After trial, a jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, Elyse L. Dalton, in the amount of $60,000.2 In accordance with the plaintiff’s motion for double or treble damages, the trial court rendered a judgment doubling these damages, from which the defendant, James J. Kelly, appeals. We find error and remand…