Fertile v. St. Michael's Medical Center

The opinion of the court was delivered by

LONG, J.

The core issues presented on this appeal are rather straightforward: in the face of a concededly excessive damages award, when is the remedy of a new damages trial conditioned on plaintiffs’ acceptance of a remittitur order appropriate; when is a new trial on all issues mandated; and by what standard is the amount of a remittitur order to be assessed?

I

On April 4, 1996, plaintiffs, Danialie Fertile, an infant by her guardian ad litem, Marlene Fertile, and Marlene Fertile, individually, (collectively, plaintiffs) filed a complaint against Dr.…