The Fourth Department, reversing Supreme Court, in a case sent back by the Court of Appeals for a determination of the appropriate discount rate on a jury verdict in a breach of contract action, held the plaintiff’s request for a jury trial on the issue should have been granted:
… [I]t is undisputed that, prior to the original trial in this matter, plaintiff demanded a jury trial on all issues. During that trial, “[o]ver the [plaintiff’s] objection, the jury was provided with a verdict form that did not allow for any damages discount” … . Although the Court of Appeals remitted the matter for the purpose of establishing a discount rate, it did not indicate whether the discount rate should be determined by the trial court or a jury. Nevertheless, prior to the trial that is the subject of this appeal, plaintiff renewed its request for a jury, which the court denied. Contrary to defendant’s contention, neither article 50-A nor article 50-B of the CPLR requires that the discount rate be determined by the court. As the Court of Appeals stated, this is a breach of contract action… . Article 50-A deals with periodic payment of judgments in actions concerning medical and dental malpractice, and article 50-B deals with periodic payment of judgments in actions concerning personal injury, injury to property, and wrongful death. Furthermore, we conclude that Toledo v Iglesia Ni Christo (18 NY3d 363 [2012]) does not require the trial court to determine the discount rate in this case inasmuch as Toledo was a wrongful death case within the purview of CPLR article 50-B. Village of Herkimer v County of Herkimer, 2018 NY Slip Op 00756, Fourth Dept 2-2-18
CIVIL PROCEDURE (JURY TRIAL, PLAINTIFF WAS ENTITLED TO A JURY TRIAL ON THE ISSUE OF THE APPROPRIATE DISCOUNT RATE TO BE APPLIED TO A JURY VERDICT IN THIS BREACH OF CONTRACT ACTION (FOURTH DEPT))/DAMAGES (JURY TRIAL, PLAINTIFF WAS ENTITLED TO A JURY TRIAL ON THE ISSUE OF THE APPROPRIATE DISCOUNT RATE TO BE APPLIED TO A JURY VERDICT IN THIS BREACH OF CONTRACT ACTION (FOURTH DEPT))/DISCOUNT RATE (DAMAGES, JURY TRIAL, PLAINTIFF WAS ENTITLED TO A JURY TRIAL ON THE ISSUE OF THE APPROPRIATE DISCOUNT RATE TO BE APPLIED TO A JURY VERDICT IN THIS BREACH OF CONTRACT ACTION (FOURTH DEPT))/JURY TRIAL (BREACH OF CONTRACT, DISCOUNT RATE, PLAINTIFF WAS ENTITLED TO A JURY TRIAL ON THE ISSUE OF THE APPROPRIATE DISCOUNT RATE TO BE APPLIED TO A JURY VERDICT IN THIS BREACH OF CONTRACT ACTION (FOURTH DEPT))/CONTRACT LAW (DAMAGES, JURY TRIAL, PLAINTIFF WAS ENTITLED TO A JURY TRIAL ON THE ISSUE OF THE APPROPRIATE DISCOUNT RATE TO BE APPLIED TO A JURY VERDICT IN THIS BREACH OF CONTRACT ACTION (FOURTH DEPT))