Kenton v. Hyatt Hotels Corp.

693 S.W.2d 83 (1985)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P had completed two years of law school and obtained a jury verdict of $4,000,000 as compensatory damages for injuries sustained by the collapse of the suspended skywalks in the D Hotel lobby, in Kansas City, Missouri, on July 17, 1981. P suffered a cervical fracture which produced an initial paralysis of her body. In addition, Dr. Walter Menninger stated that she was subjected to the most severe psychosocial stressor imaginable, Grade 7, and the traumatic event and the crippling effects it produced caused a dramatic and profound psychic trauma which is continuing in nature. Dr. Francisco Gomez, P's treating psychiatrist, and Dr. Menninger classified her psychiatric injury as post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic and severe. Dr. Menninger testified further that she exhibited symptoms characteristic of a post-traumatic stress disorder: re-experiencing the trauma by either recurrent recollections, recurrent dreams, or suddenly acting or feeling as if the event was happening; and a numbing of responsiveness or reduced involvement with the external world sometime afterward. The trial court concluded that the verdict was excessive and entered an order sustaining a motion for a new trial unless P filed a remittitur of $250,000. On appeal, D asserted trial errors and requested reversal and remand for a new trial or alternatively that the verdict be reduced by a remittitur of $2,000,000. P contends that the trial court erred in ordering a remittitur of $250,000 and requests that the verdict be reinstated. The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment in all particulars but declined to restore the remittitur ordered by the trial court and transferred the case to this court. D contends that the trial court erred in refusing to grant a remittitur of $2,000,000.