HALL V. MONTGOMERY WARD & CO.
252 N.W.2d 421 (1977)
NATURE OF THE CASE: This was a suit over mental anguish.
FACTS: Hall (P) was a borderline mental retard with an IQ of 69. P worked as a
maintenance man in Ward's Store (D) in Cedar Falls, Iowa. P borrowed a floor scrubber and
cleaning materials to moonlight by cleaning tavern floors. P was discovered and a security
officer of D interrogated P in the manager's office. P was threatened with jail and D came
out of the meeting with four signed documents. At trial, an expert testified that P would
sign anything to extricate himself from a stressful situation, and that some of the words in
the documents could not be understood by P. The documents were a confession of theft of
$5000 and a promissory note to D for $5000. P testified that he signed the documents because
he was threatened with jail. The store manager testified that the items listed in the
documents as stolen would amount to $25 to $35 and that the $5000 figure was P's estimate. P
testified about his mental anguish but did not introduce evidence of any physical injury or
of financial loss or expense. P then testified about his poverty tending to show that he did
not have D's property and then over D's objection introduced D's balance sheet of almost $2
billion in assets with $2.6 billion in sales per year. D moved for a directed verdict and it
was denied. The jury awarded P $12,500 and $50,000 in exemplary damages. D moved for a
judgment n.o.v. and a new trial and was given the new trial. P appealed from the new trial
award. D cross-appealed for failure to grant a directed verdict or the judgment n.o.v.
ISSUE:
RULE OF LAW:
HOLDING AND DECISION:
LEGAL ANALYSIS:
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