Kaczkowski v. Bolubasz

421 A.2d 1027 (1980)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Eric was killed while riding as a passenger. Theodore (P) filed a wrongful death suit against Bolubasz (D), the driver of the other car. The jury found D liable. Upon P's Motion For a New Trial, the case was returned to the trial court for a retrial on the issue of damages. The jury was presented with the following facts: Eric was a white male, twenty years of age at the time of his death; he attended Alliance College for two years; and at the time of his death, he was attending the Institute of Computer Management, a division of Litton Industries. Eric's close friends and relatives testified that decedent was in good health, industrious, and interested in his course of study in computer operations. The lower court charged the jury to consider the decedent's personal characteristics to: calculate the potential gross earnings of the decedent for the period of decedent's work life expectancy; to determine the maintenance costs of the decedent for the period of decedent's work life expectancy; to deduct the personal maintenance costs from the gross earnings to produce net earnings; and to discount the net earnings to present value by six percent (6%) simple interest. The jury returned a verdict of $30,000. P's Motion for a New Trial was denied. The Superior Court affirmed the lower court. P appealed. The issue raised by P is whether the trial court erred in excluding reliable economic testimony showing the impact of inflation and increased productivity on decedent's future earning power.