You sat through weeks of testimony, waited for the jury to deliberate and then heard a verdict that felt completely wrong. Maybe the evidence overwhelmingly supported your side, or maybe the jury seemed to ignore the judge’s instructions. Either way, you want to know whether anything can be done. Kentucky law does provide ways to challenge a jury’s decision after trial, but the standards are high and the deadlines are tight.
Judgment notwithstanding the verdict
The most direct way to overturn a jury verdict in Kentucky is through a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, sometimes called a JNOV. This asks the trial judge to set aside the jury’s decision and enter judgment for the other side. Kentucky courts make clear that judges should grant a JNOV only when the record contains no proof on a material issue or when no reasonable person could have reached the jury’s verdict. The judge must review all evidence and draw every reasonable inference in favor of the party who won the verdict. This high bar means courts rarely grant JNOVs, but the remedy still serves as an important safeguard when a verdict has no factual foundation.
Motion for a new trial
If the evidence falls short of overturning the verdict, you may still have grounds to seek a new trial. Under Kentucky Civil Rule 59.01, a court may grant a new trial for several reasons. These include:
- An irregularity that kept the trial from being fair
- Jury misconduct
- Damages that seem too high or too low because passion or prejudice influenced the jury
- Newly discovered evidence that you could not have found earlier through reasonable effort
- Legal errors that a party challenged during the case
A new trial does not resolve the case. Instead, it gives both sides another chance to present evidence and arguments.
Motion to alter or amend the judgment
Kentucky Civil Rule 59.05 allows a party to ask the court to correct its own judgment. You must serve this motion within 10 days after entry of the judgment. Courts grant it to correct clear errors of law or fact, consider newly available evidence or prevent an unjust result. This option is narrower than a new trial motion and usually applies when the judgment contains an obvious mistake rather than a fundamental problem with the verdict itself. It is one of several tools available in civil litigation to address errors without starting over.
Why timing and preservation matter
Post-trial motions in Kentucky come with strict deadlines, and missing them can cost you the right to challenge the verdict entirely. Equally important is what happened during the trial. In many cases, you can only raise an issue after the verdict if your attorney objected to it at the time it occurred. Preserving those objections during trial is what makes post-trial relief possible.
