Beach Mart, Inc. v. L&L Wings, Inc.

Filing 638

MEMORANDUM AND OPINION - Beach Mart's request for a jury instruction on punitive damages and a related verdict form question is DENIED. Signed by District Judge Louise Wood Flanagan on 11/16/2020. (Collins, S.)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
NORTHERN DIVISION
NO. 2:11-CV-44-FL

BEACH MART, INC.,
Plaintiff,
v.
L&L WINGS, INC.,
Defendant.

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MEMORANDUM OPINION

This matter came before the court for trial commencing November 2, 2020. The court
memorializes herein reasons for denying Beach Mart Inc.’s (“Beach Mart”) request for a jury
instruction and verdict form question on punitive damages.
COURT’S DISCUSSION
Although Beach Mart requested punitive damages in its operative amended complaint, it
did not include its request for punitive damages in its pretrial order, trial brief, or proposed jury
instructions. On November 12, 2020, after Beach Mart had finished its case-in-chief, and L&L
Wings, Inc. (“L&L Wings”) had called its final witness, Beach Mart requested a jury instruction
and attendant verdict form question on punitive damages. The court denied this request, finding
that Beach Mart waived punitive damages by failing to include them in its pretrial order. See Fed.
R. Civ. P. 16(d) (“[The pretrial] order controls the course of the action unless the court modifies
it.”); Rockwell Int’l Corp. v. United States, 549 U.S. 457, 474 (2007) (“[C]laims, issues, defenses,
or theories of damages not included in the pretrial order are waived even if they appeared in the
complaint, and, conversely, the inclusion of a claim in the pretrial order is deemed to amend any

Case 2:11-cv-00044-FL Document 638 Filed 11/16/20 Page 1 of 2

previous pleadings which did not include that claim.”) (internal citation omitted) (emphasis
added); McLean Contracting Co. v. Waterman Steamship Corp., 277 F.3d 477, 480 (4th Cir. 2002)
(“Failure to identify a legal issue worthy of trial in the pretrial conference or pretrial order waives
the party’s right to have that issue tried.”); Morales v. Turman, 535 F.2d 864, 868 (5th Cir.
1976), rev’d on other grounds, 430 U.S. 322 (1977) (“The pretrial order supersedes the pleadings
and becomes the governing pattern of the lawsuit. It may thus be relied upon as an indicator of
the nature of the relief sought for purposes of determining whether a three-judge court is
required.”). At this late stage of the proceedings, allowing Beach Mart to pursue punitive damages
would result in substantial prejudice to L&L Wings, where L&L Wings tried this case under the
reasonable belief that Beach Mart was not seeking punitive damages. Accordingly, Beach Mart’s
request is denied.
CONCLUSION
Based on the foregoing, Beach Mart’s request for a jury instruction on punitive damages
and a related verdict form question is DENIED.
SO ORDERED, this the 16th day of November, 2020.

_____________________________
LOUISE W. FLANAGAN
United States District Judge

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