Can a trial judge assess damages in the face of a jury verdict which arguably excessive?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from Vaillancourt v. Molnar, 2001 BCSC 1337 (CanLII):
In support of his position that the trial judge may assess damages in the face of a jury verdict which is arguably excessive, the defendant refers to terNeuzen v. Korn, 1995 CanLII 72 (SCC), [1995] 3 S.C.R. 674 (S.C.C.). Sopinka J. said at paragraph 114: Whether the jury is or is not advised of the upper limit, if the award exceeds the limit, the trial judge should reduce the award to conform with the "cap" set out in the trilogy and adjusted for inflation...It would be wrong for the trial judge to enter judgement for an amount that as a matter of law is excessive. While it is true that the matter can be corrected on appeal, an appeal may be unnecessary if the correct amount is fixed at trial."
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