M Civ JI 66.02 Form of Verdict: Comparative Negligence - Property Damage (To Be Used in Cases Filed on or after March 28, 1996)

We, the jury, answer the questions submitted as follows:

QUESTION NO. 1: Was the defendant negligent?

Answer: ____(yes or no)

If your answer is “yes,” go on to QUESTION NO. 2.

If your answer is “no,” do not answer any further questions.

QUESTION NO. 2: Did the plaintiff sustain damage in one or more of the ways claimed?

Answer: ____(yes or no)

If your answer is “yes,” go on to QUESTION NO. 3.

If your answer is “no,” do not answer any further questions.

QUESTION NO. 3: Was the defendant’s negligence a proximate cause of the damage claimed by the plaintiff?

Answer: ____(yes or no)

If your answer is “yes,” go on to QUESTION NO. 4.

If your answer is “no,” do not answer any further questions.

QUESTION NO. 4: Was [ name of nonparty ] negligent?

Answer: ____(yes or no)

If your answer is “yes,” go on to QUESTION NO. 5.

If your answer is “no,” go on to QUESTION NO. 6.

QUESTION NO. 5: Was [ name of nonparty ]’s negligence a proximate cause of the damage claimed by the plaintiff?

Answer: ____(yes or no)

If your answer is “yes,” or “no,” go on to QUESTION NO. 6.

QUESTION NO. 6: Was the plaintiff negligent?

Answer: ____(yes or no)

If your answer is “yes,” go on to QUESTION NO. 7.

If your answer is “no,” go on to QUESTION NO. 8.

QUESTION NO. 7: Was the plaintiff’s negligence a proximate cause of plaintiff’s damage?

Answer: ____(yes or no)

If your answer is “yes” or “no,” go on to QUESTION NO. 8.

QUESTION NO. 8:

A. Using 100 percent as the total, enter the percentage of negligence attributable to the defendant:

____ percent

B. If you answered “yes” to QUESTION NO. 5, then using 100 percent as the total, enter the percentage of negligence attributable to [ name of nonparty ]:

____ percent

C. If you answered “yes” to QUESTION NO. 7, then using 100 percent as the total, enter the percentage of negligence attributable to the plaintiff:

____ percent

The total of these must equal 100 percent:

TOTAL 100 percent

QUESTION NO. 9: If you find that plaintiff has sustained damage for [ describe damages to property claimed by the plaintiff ], give the total amount of damages.

Answer: $________.____

Signed,

___________________________________ _______________________

Foreperson Date

Note on Use

This form of verdict should be used for cases involving only property damages that are filed on or after March 28, 1996. 1995 PA 161, §3; 1995 PA 249, §3. See MCL 600.6304.

Where there are multiple plaintiffs or defendants, the appropriate questions should be asked separately to each one.

A separate special verdict sheet should be furnished to the jury for each plaintiff and each defendant.

Omit any questions that are not an issue.

If this verdict form is used in a property damage case in which future damages are appropriate, the damages awarded in the answer to QUESTION NO. 9 should reflect (unless the parties stipulate otherwise) an adjustment for inflation and a reduction of future damages to present worth as directed by M Civ JI 53.06 Effect of Inflation on Future Damages and M Civ JI 53.03 Future Damages—Reduction to Present Cash Value. The Michigan statute MCL 600.6305 that requires jury verdicts to separate past from future damages and to separate future damages by year applies to personal injury actions, not to actions for damage to property only.

This form of verdict may have to be modified if fault, such as intentional conduct, is an issue in the case. The statutory definition of fault is: “‘fault’ includes an act, an omission, conduct, including intentional conduct, a breach of warranty, or a breach of a legal duty, or any conduct that could give rise to the imposition of strict liability, that is a proximate cause of damage sustained by a party.” MCL 600.6304(8).

Comment

See MCL 600.6304, .6306.

Before the enactment of 1995 PA 161, the jury was not to determine the fault of settling tortfeasors. Department of Transp v Thrasher, 446 Mich 61; 521 NW2d 214 (1994).

History

M Civ JI 66.02 was added June 1997. Amended December 2001.