William Fisch, Plaintiff-Appellant v. George Manger and Lee Branin, T/A Manger & Branin and Bernard Clausi…

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey reversed the trial court's denial of a new trial and ordered a new jury trial limited to damages, holding that the trial court abused its discretion by conditioning denial of a new trial on the defendants' consent to increase the verdict (additur). The Court affirmed that liability was already properly decided and that the additur practice violates the constitutional guarantee of trial by jury. Justice Heher filed a concurring opinion emphasizing the historical common‑law basis of the jury right.