Who Has Time To Read A Special Verdict Form?. . . .Unimportant Details

In an action for hostile work environment brought under Government Code section 12900, et seq. [California Fair Employment and Housing Act; FEHA], a jury returned a plaintiff’s verdict for $160,000 and the court awarded him $680,520 for attorney fees. In a motion for JNOV, defense counsel argued the parties and the court agreed on a special verdict form at an afternoon meeting. In a declaration, counsel added: “The next morning when we returned to court, [plaintiff’s counsel] showed me the revised, final special verdict form that he had prepared. I looked it over and it appeared to incorporate the revisions the court and counsel had discussed the previous day. [Plaintiff’s counsel] asked me if I approved of the form and I said that I did. [¶] When I looked over the special verdict form that [plaintiff’s counsel] gave me, I did not notice that after question 4, the verdict form stated ‘If your answer to question 4 is yes, then skip ahead to question 10.’ As the court and the attorneys had discussed and agreed the day before, the verdict form should have stated, ‘If your answer to question 4 is yeas, then answer question 5. If you answered no, then skip ahead to question 10.” The trial court concluded defendant waived or forfeited his claim that the special verdict form was fatally defective because no objection was made before the jury was discharged. The appellate court agreed. (Taylor v. Nabors Drilling USA, LP (Cal. App. Second Dist., Div. 6; January 13, 2013) 222 Cal.App.4th 1228, [166 Cal.Rptr.3d 676].)