Turyna v. Martam Construction Co., Inc.

After Turyna (plaintiff) sued his former employer Martam Construction (defendant) for unpaid overtime, retaliatory firing, and breach of contract, the jury used a confusingly designed verdict form that was neither a clear general verdict nor a special verdict with interrogatories; the jury found for Turyna on the overtime claim but for Martam on the retaliatory-firing claim, yet still filled in a punitive damages award against Martam under that same retaliatory-firing claim it had just rejected. With neither party's attorney present when the verdict was returned, the court entered judgment including the inconsistent punitive award, and denied Martam's post-trial motion to set aside that award as inconsistent with the underlying no-liability finding; Martam appealed.