Schabe v. Hampton Bays Union Free School District

Jennifer Schabe (plaintiff) was injured when she was hit by a bus near a school operated by the Hampton Bays Union Free School District (district) (defendant). Schabe sued the district, the school, the bus company, and the driver (defendants). Schabe settled with the bus company and driver before trial, but the company’s negligence remained a trial issue because Schabe’s damages had to be reduced to reflect the company’s degree of fault. The trial was bifurcated, with the six-person jury first considering liability. The court instructed the jury that at least five jurors had to agree with each special-verdict answer but that each answer did not require the same five jurors’ assents. In response to a jury inquiry, the court advised that once five jurors answered a question, any dissenting juror was bound by that decision in answering subsequent questions. The jury unanimously concluded that the district was negligent, but only five jurors found that (1) the district proximately caused Schabe’s injuries, (2) the bus company was not negligent, (3) Schabe was negligent and proximately caused her own injuries, and (4) the district was 59 percent at fault. The same five jurors did not agree to these answers. During the jury’s damages deliberations, the court responded to a jury question by explaining that Schabe would receive 59 percent of the award. The jury unanimously awarded $750,000 in damages. The district and school appealed, arguing that (1) the same five jurors had to agree to each special-verdict answer, (2) dissenting jurors were not bound by other jurors’ answers, and (3) the trial court erred in stating that Schabe would receive 59 percent of the damages.