- Court: Oregon Court of Appeals
- Area(s) of Law: Civil Procedure
- Date Filed: 10-09-2019
- Case #: A163802
- Judge(s)/Court Below: Shorr, J. for the Court; Egan, C.J.; Ortega, J.; Hadlock, J.; DeVore, J.; Tookey, J.; DeHoog, J.; James, J.; Aoyagi, J.; Powers, J.; & Landau, S.J.; Armstrong, J., dissenting.
- Full Text Opinion
The State appealed an order granting Defendant a new trial under ORCP 64. The State assigned error to the application of ORCP 64 B invalidating the jury verdict. On appeal, the State argued "that the trial court had no legal basis under ORCP 64 B to grant a new trial for an erroneous jury instruction when Defendant failed to object to the instructions." In response, Defendant argued that the jury instruction was an irregularity in the proceedings under ORCP 64 B(1) and prevented him from having a fair trial. "ORCP 64 B(6) provides that a new trial may be granted following a jury trial where the party's substantial rights were materially affected by '[e]rror in law occurring at the trial and objected to or excepted to by the party making the application.'" The Court held that the grant of new trial due to the instructional error was improper, because holding the instructional error to be an "irregularity of proceedings" under ORCP 64 B would render language requiring objection or exception in ORCP 64 B(6) meaningless. Reversed and remanded with instructions to reinstate the judgment.