Jarvis v. Ford Motor Co.
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
283 F.3d 33 (2d Cir. 2002)
Jarvis (plaintiff) sued Ford (defendant) for a minivan design defect on theories of negligence and strict liability. Before trial, the judge questioned whether both theories should go to the jury given their overlap; Ford wrote a letter favoring only one theory but never formally objected, and at the pretrial conference Ford's own attorney asked to keep the negligence instruction in "for now." The jury was instructed on both theories and found Ford liable for negligence but not strict liability. Ford then moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV), arguing the two verdicts were inconsistdent; the district court granted it, reasoning Ford had preserved its objection through the letter. Jarvis appealed.
Whether a party waives its objection to a jury instruction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 51 when it fails to distinctly object and state the grounds for the objection.