In a dramatic turn of events, former Assin Central MP, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, is seeking to have the US court and jury that ruled against him in the $18 million suit brought by Anas Aremeyaw Anas to reduce the damages awarded in the civil case.
According to court documents, Kennedy Agyapong’s defence team has requested that the court grant remittitur, citing that the amount awarded is “clearly excessive” and “shocks the judicial conscience” in light of the proofs presented and the improper statements made by the plaintiff’s counsel during summation and closing arguments.
“The amount is clearly excessive and shocks the judicial conscience in light of the proofs presented and the improper statements of the plaintiff’s counsel in summation and the general tenor of his closing and the trial in general,” the defence team stated.
The defence argued that although the preferred method is to honor the jury’s verdict on damages, a litigant is not without redress.
They cited a 2016 court ruling that stated, “A jury’s verdict, including an award of damages, is cloaked with a presumption of correctness.”
They further quoted the court ruling, saying, “Substantial deference… must be accorded [to] a damages award rendered by a jury.”
However, the defence noted that this deference is not absolute.
They quoted another court ruling, saying, “Where appropriate, the moulding of a monetary award is appropriate when done to conform to evidence.”
They emphasized that this is not a request to mould but to correct an injustice.
“The moulding of a monetary award is appropriate when done to conform to evidence… This is not a request to mould but to correct an injustice,” the defence team stated.
The court documents revealed that Agyapong’s defence team is seeking to have the damages reduced, arguing that the amount awarded was excessive and not supported by the evidence presented during the trial.
The outcome of this request remains to be seen, but it’s clear that Agyapong’s team is determined to have the damages reduced.
In a related development, the defence team noted that a jury award may be adjusted by the trial court under certain limited circumstances.
They quoted the New Jersey Supreme Court, saying, “In those rare instances when a trial court determines that a damages award is either grossly excessive or grossly inadequate, the trial court may use remittitur or additur to adjust the jury verdict beyond what is allowed by moulding.”
-BY Daniel Bampoe
