Elizabeth Walsh, Surviving Wife of Jerome Walsh, Deceased; and Annette Forrester, Scott Walsh, Steven Walsh, And…

Summary

The court held that a wrongful-death jury may award zero damages even when the survivors' testimony about their loss is uncontested, because the statute commits the amount of damages to the jury's determination of what is fair and just. The verdict was therefore not legally defective, but the trial court retained discretion to grant a new trial if the award was insufficient or unsupported by the evidence. The court reversed the denial of the new-trial motion and remanded for consideration of that motion on its merits.