San Francisco, CA commercial litigation attorney Edward Hugo explains how he fully informs juries on damages. He emphasizes that in California litigation, one of his key goals is to ensure the jury fully understands the consequences of their verdict, particularly in how damages are applied. In California, economic damages are subject to joint and several liability, while non-economic damages are apportioned based on fault. This means that if a jury finds a defendant one percent liable, that defendant is only responsible for one percent of non-economic damages, but is responsible for 100 percent of the economic damages.

Because standard jury instructions do not explain this distinction, he always submits a special instruction so the jury understands the full impact of their decision. Without this guidance, plaintiffs’ counsel may encourage juries to assign a small percentage of liability—like one or five percent—thinking it’s fair, but the jury is often unaware that this translates to full responsibility for economic damages. When juries are properly informed of the consequences, they take their decision-making more seriously. Otherwise, they may attempt to “split the baby,” trying to balance fairness without fully understanding the real implications, and in doing so, they often fail to achieve a just outcome.