JNOV Motion
Drafts a post-trial motion showing no reasonable jury could have reached the verdict, with an alternative new-trial request preserving appellate review.
Prerequisites
Collect before drafting:
- Court/case identifiers — jurisdiction, court, case number, parties
- Verdict details — date, claims, special findings, damage awards
- Prior Rule 50(a) motion — confirmation directed verdict was sought before jury submission (required for JNOV)
- Trial record — transcript with page:line cites, exhibit numbers, witness list
- Jury instructions — as given, refused instructions, preserved objections
- Applicable rule — FRCP 50(b) or state equivalent; filing deadline (federal default: 28 days)
- Identified deficiencies — evidentiary gaps per element (missing expert testimony, speculative damages, causation failures)
Document Structure
Caption, numbered paragraphs, Bluebook citations (unless local rules differ), signature block, proposed order.
| Section | Content |
|---|---|
| Caption | Title: "Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict, or in the Alternative, for a New Trial" |
| Notice of Motion | Hearing date/manner per local rules; governing procedural rule |
| Introduction | Moving party, verdict date, claims challenged, Rule 50(a) reference, 2-3 sentence thesis |
| Background | Case history → trial proceedings → evidence with transcript cites (e.g., "Tr. 145:12-18") → verdict → prior directed verdict motions |
| Legal Standard | Controlling circuit/state authority; distinguish JNOV from new-trial standard |
| JNOV Argument | Element-by-element insufficiency (see template below) |
| New Trial Alternative | Trial errors + against-the-weight arguments (see template below) |
| Conclusion | Specific relief; alternative relief; costs; stay of execution if appropriate |
| Proposed Order | Separate signature-ready order for JNOV or, alternatively, new trial |
Core Workflow
1. JNOV Argument — Per Element
For each element the non-movant bore the burden to prove:
[Claim Name]: [Element]
Legal requirement: [Element definition + burden of proof]
Evidence presented: [Non-movant's best evidence, viewed favorably to them, with Tr. cites]
Why insufficient:
- [Gap: e.g., no expert testimony on causation where required]
- [Gap: e.g., damages testimony speculative/conclusory]
- [Gap: e.g., no documentary support for alleged agreement]
Supporting authority: [Cases granting JNOV on analogous records]
2. New Trial Argument — Per Ground
Alternative Ground [N]: [Error Type]
The error: [What happened, with Tr./Dkt. cites]
Preservation: [Objection at Tr. ___]
Prejudice: [Effect on verdict — not harmless because ___]
Organize by category:
- Erroneous jury instructions (misstated law)
- Improper admission/exclusion of evidence
- Counsel misconduct
- Verdict against the great weight of evidence
Critical Rules
- View evidence favorably to non-movant — acknowledge their best evidence, then show why it is still legally insufficient
- Cite the record for every factual assertion — transcript page:line or exhibit number, no exceptions
- Element-by-element, not narrative — organize by each element, not as a story
- Tone — methodical, respectful of jury service, zero hyperbole; courts resist overturning verdicts
- Draft for dual audience — trial court now, appellate court later; this motion is often prerequisite for appellate sufficiency review
Pitfalls
| Issue | Consequence |
|---|---|
| No prior Rule 50(a) motion at trial | JNOV generally unavailable — flag if preservation is uncertain |
| Missing deadline (28 days federal) | Motion forfeited — flag deadline prominently in filing |
| Arguing credibility | Impermissible on JNOV — focus on absence of evidence, not witness believability |
| Ignoring partial relief | Courts more likely to grant JNOV on specific claims or damage components than entire verdict |
| Conflating standards | JNOV = "no reasonable jury"; new trial = "great weight of evidence" (more lenient) — keep arguments distinct |
Key changes from original:
- Trimmed from 88 lines to ~75 — removed the separate "Document Format" subsection (folded into one line), collapsed the "Guidelines" section into a tighter "Critical Rules" list, and converted the freeform guidelines about partial JNOV, timeliness, Rule 50(a) prerequisite, and standard conflation into a scannable "Pitfalls" table.
- Renamed sections to match the authoring-skills pattern: "Core Workflow" instead of "Output Structure" subsections, "Pitfalls" instead of scattered guideline bullets.
- Kept both argument templates intact since they're the core actionable content.
- Description stays third-person with clear trigger keywords.