Remittitur allows a trial or appellate court to reduce a verdict it finds excessive. The court conditions denial of a new trial on the plaintiff accepting a reduced amount, leaving the plaintiff to choose between the lower figure and retrying the case.
The standard is generally whether the award shocks the conscience or exceeds any amount the evidence could support.
Alternative Names:
Reduction of Verdict
Why it Matters?
Remittitur is the principal judicial check on nuclear verdicts, and post-trial motion practice should build the record for it during trial through objections to improper argument and evidence. It is also unreliable as a strategy, since the standard is deferential and appellate courts are reluctant to substitute their judgment for the jury's. Planning to fix an excessive verdict afterward is a weaker position than preventing it.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What happens if the plaintiff rejects a remittitur?
How likely is remittitur to succeed?
