Rule 42(b) permits separate trials of issues, claims, or third-party claims for convenience, to avoid prejudice, or to expedite. Common divisions include liability and damages, and compensatory and punitive phases.
The Seventh Amendment limits reexamination of decided facts.
Alternative Names:
Bifurcation Motion, Motion for Separate Trial of Issues
Why it Matters?
Bifurcating liability from damages prevents the jury from hearing extensive injury evidence while deciding fault, which is the primary defense benefit in catastrophic injury cases where sympathy may drive the liability finding. Punitive phase bifurcation similarly defers financial condition evidence. The Seventh Amendment constraint requires that the divided issues be genuinely separable so a second jury does not reexamine the first's findings.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What is the primary defense benefit?
What constrains bifurcation?
