A Missouri appellate court affirmed a $5.18 million verdict in favor of a commercial airline supplies company, concluding that a group of defendants failed to preserve their challenges to the jury instructions in a negligence suit.
On Tuesday, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District denied the defendants’ challenge to the Jackson County Circuit Court’s ruling that affirmed the jury verdict against the defendants, including the award of damages and punitive damages, in favor of Racket Merchandise Company. Racket filed suit after demolition and repairs to the defendants’ properties caused Racket’s building to suffer significant damage. After the jury’s verdict, the defendants, 718 Grand, Power & Light Properties, and U.S. Property, challenged the trial court’s submission of the jury instructions, arguing the court erroneously overruled their objections to the damages instructions that allowed the jury to award “overlapping, duplicate damages for the claims” and to consider instructions that did not contain a knowledge element.