 |
Table of Contents
Table of Authorities
- Introduction
- Drafting the Charge
- When Do You Do It
- Where Do You Start
- When Is It Due
- The Contents of the Jury Charge
- Broad-Form Questions
- Definitions and Instructions
- Challenges to the Charge - Preserving Error
- Objections and Requests
- Charge Conference
- Crown Life Ins. Co. v. Casteel
- Instructions in Construction Cases
Appendix 1: Jury Charge Do's and Don't's
Appendix 2: Courts Charge Reporter Excerpts
Abstract
This paper addresses the jury charge in construction cases.
Because most of our cases will be in state court I emphasize Texas procedural law. However,
with the Texas Supreme Court's mandate that all jury cases, whenever feasible, be
submitted to the jury "by broad-form questions", Tex. R. Civ. P. 277, Texas and
federal practice are very similar. Additionally, I have included in Section E sample
model jury instructions specifically tailored for construction cases. As noted in my
Acknowledgement, many of these instructions are verbatim from the Model Jury Instructions,
ABA Section of Litigation, Construction Litigation Committee ("ABA Model Instructions")
(www.ababooks.org). One caveat: as
you will see, many of these instructions are substantially longer than those found
in the Texas Pattern Jury Charge Manual for more generic contract cases. Depending
on the trial court, you may well need to shorten them substantially. However, they
are good starting points for putting together your jury charge.
|
|
You must have the free Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 (or greater) installed in your
computer in order to view or print this paper. It is available as free
download from the Adobe Web site. If you do not have Acrobat Reader installed,
click the link to the left to download it. If menu window opens before the paper, choose the "View"
option.
|
