Under Rule 50(b), a party that moved for judgment as a matter of law before the case went to the jury may renew the motion after verdict. The court asks whether a reasonable jury had a legally sufficient evidentiary basis for its finding.
The renewed motion is limited to grounds raised in the pre-verdict motion.
Alternative Names:
JNOV, Rule 50(b) Motion, Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict
Why it Matters?
The pre-verdict motion is the gatekeeper. A party that failed to move under Rule 50(a) on a specific ground, or moved only generally, cannot raise it afterward and generally waives sufficiency review on appeal entirely. That makes the Rule 50(a) motion at the close of evidence a preservation exercise requiring specificity on each element, not a formality to be made in general terms.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Must a pre-verdict motion be made first?
How specific must the pre-verdict motion be?
