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Pomeroy v. Glidden
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MAINE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT Reporter of Decisions
Decision: 1997 ME 118
Docket: Pen-96-403
Submitted
on Briefs: April 18, 1997
Decided: May 28, 1997
Panel:WATHEN, C.J., and ROBERTS, GLASSMAN, CLIFFORD, DANA, and LIPEZ, JJ.
DOROTHY R. POMEROY et al.
v.
BENJAMIN GLIDDEN
ROBERTS, J.
[¶1] Dorothy R. Pomeroy and Kenneth Pomeroy appeal from the
judgment entered on a jury verdict in the Superior Court (Penobscot County,
Mills, J.) against Benjamin Glidden in their action against Glidden seeking
damages resulting from his negligent driving. They argue that the court
committed a number of errors, including its decision to permit Glidden's
wife to sit with him at the counsel table during the trial and its denial of
their motions to amend the verdict or grant a new trial. We affirm the
judgment.
[¶2] This case stems from a 1991 accident in which Glidden struck
Dorothy with his car as she was walking in a Bangor parking lot. The jury
found that both Dorothy and Glidden were negligent, though Dorothy's
negligence was less than Glidden's. It set Dorothy's total damages at
$125,000 but reduced the final award to $18,000.
[¶3] The Pomeroys contend the court erred by permitting Glidden's
wife to sit with him at the counsel table during the trial. We disagree. The
court has wide discretion to control the conduct of a trial, and nothing in
the record before us suggests that Mrs. Glidden's presence at the counsel
table unfairly influenced the jury. See also Sonja A. Soehnel, Propriety and
Prejudicial Effect of Permitting Nonparty to be Seated at Counsel Table, 87
A.L.R.3d 238 (1978 & Supp. 1996); 75 Am. Jur. 2d Trial § 185 (1991 &
Supp. 1996).
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