(DOWNLOAD) "Martinez v. City of Cheyenne" by Supreme Court of the United States * Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Martinez v. City of Cheyenne
- Author : Supreme Court of the United States
- Release Date : January 04, 1990
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 69 KB
Description
The issues in this case relate to jurisdiction, both in this court and in the trial court; procedure, which involves essentially the related questions of jurisdiction; and substantive law relating to damages in a negligence case. The jurisdictional issue with respect to this court is whether the notice of appeal was timely filed. It is not without difficulty that we conclude that the notice of appeal was timely filed. The dual questions of jurisdiction in the trial court concern the scope of the statutory waiver of governmental immunity and the authority of the trial court to enter an order of additur more than 90 days after the entry of judgment. We are satisfied that there was an appropriate waiver of governmental immunity in this instance, and the trial court did have jurisdiction to address the liability of the State of Wyoming. We are equally satisfied that the trial court had no jurisdiction to enter an order of additur more than ninety days after the entry of judgment, and that ruling must be reversed. Perhaps the most interesting of the issues involves the question of liability of a tortfeasor for damages arising out of a flooding of the plaintiffs property in the course of an unprecedented rainstorm. We conclude that the jury verdict that awarded $36,000 in damages was contrary to the evidence and the instructions given to the jury in view of the evidence of the actual loss the plaintiffs sustained in the amount of $120,000. We reverse the judgment entered by the trial court and remand the case for a new trial on the issue of damages only.