Brown v. Frazier

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 96-2157
CYNTHIA LOROENE BROWN,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
versus
PHILLIP FRAZIER,
Defendant - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Beaufort. Robert S. Carr, Magistrate Judge.
(CA-95-3246-9-19)
Submitted: February 3, 1998 Decided: February 18, 1998
Before WIDENER, HAMILTON, and LUTTIG, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Cynthia Loroene Brown, Appellant Pro Se. Stephen Peterson Groves,
Sr., Randell Croft Stoney, Jr., YOUNG, CLEMENT, RIVERS & TISDALE,
Charleston, South Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Cynthia L. Brown appeals the magistrate judge's* orders
entered in accordance with a jury verdict that she was entitled to
"zero dollars" in damages in a personal injury action and denying
her Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(a) motion. At trial, the Defendant conceded
liability but contested Brown's damages. The evidence at trial
revealed that a car driven by the Defendant and traveling at less
than five miles per hour rear-ended a truck driven by Brown. Imme-
diately after the accident, Brown informed the Defendant that she
was fine; however, several weeks later, she claimed to have sus-
tained injuries during the accident. After entry of judgment pur-
suant to the jury's verdict, Brown moved for a new trial. In his
opinion denying the motion, the magistrate judge characterized as
"incredible" Brown's testimony concerning her claimed injuries. Our
review of the record reveals that Brown's proof of damages com-
pletely failed. We therefore affirm. See Page v. Crisp, 399 S.E.2d
161, 126 (S.C. Ct. App. 1990). We dispense with oral argument
because the facts and legal arguments are adequately presented in
the material before the court and argument would not significantly
aid the decisional process.
*
The parties consented to the jurisdiction of the magistrate
judge. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(c)(1) (1994).
2
AFFIRMED
3