ON POST TRIAL MOTIONS VERDICT OF $350,000 FOR PAST PAIN AND SUFFERING FOR LEGIONNAIRES DISEASE UPHELD BUT $100,000 AWARD TO SPOUSE REMITTED TO $25,000. ISSUE OF AVAILABILITY OF LOSS OF SOCIETY IN ADMIRALTY NOT DECIDED.
RAYMOND HAGUE and MARY RUTH HAGUE, Plaintiffs, - against -CELEBRITY CRUISES, INC., FANTASIA CRUISING, INC., ESSEF CORPORATION, PAC-FAB,INC., ESSEF MANUFACTURING FSC, INC., and SFG, Defendants.
95 Civ. 4648 (BSJ) (JCF)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10824
August 1, 2001, Decided
August 1, 2001, Filed
Raymond W. Hague contracted Legionnaires' Disease from the whirlpool/spa aboard the cruise ship M/V Horizon. Following a trial on damages, the jury awarded Mr. Hague $350,000 for past pain and suffering and $15,000 for future pain and suffering. It also awarded his wife, Mary Ruth Hague, $100,000 for past loss of society and $15,000 for future loss of society. The defendants now move pursuant[*2] to Rule 50(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for judgment as a matter of law striking the awards for loss of society. In addition, they move under Rule 59 for a new trial on damages or a remittitur.
The issue of whether damages for loss of society are available in admiralty is being considered in connection with the posttrial motions in Silivanch v. Celebrity Cruises, Inc., 95 Civ. 0374 (BSJ) (JCF), the action tried as the bellwether case on liability. Therefore, the defendants' Rule 50 motion in the instant case shall be denied without prejudice to modification of the judgment based on the determination in Silivanch.
The defendants' motion for a new trial is denied insofar as it challenges the award to Mr. Hague for past pain and suffering. Legionnaires' Disease rendered Mr. Hague so critically ill that his physician believed that he might die. An award of $350,000 for so serious a condition does not shock the conscience even if the illness was acute rather than chronic and had no demonstrable permanent effects.
Finally, the award of $100,000 to Mary Ruth Hague for loss of society up to the date of trial is excessive. Given the limited period of time during which Mr. Hague was incapacitated, the maximum award that could be justified by the evidence is $25,000. This is the amount awarded by the jury in DeFrancesco v. Celebrity Cruises, Inc. [*4] , 94 Civ. 6147 (BSJ) (JCF), where similar evidence was presented with respect to loss of society.
