If the court grants a JMOL, what is the effect on the jury?

• A. The jury immediately deliberates again
• B. The verdict is automatically appealed
• C. It never reaches a jury
• D. A new trial is scheduled automatically

Answer: (C)

Judgment as a matter of law means the judge determines there isn’t legally sufficient evidence for a jury to return a verdict on that issue. When the court grants JMOL, the jury does not render a verdict on the resolved issue—the court takes that portion away from the jury and enters judgment for the moving party on those claims or defenses. In other words, the jury never reaches a verdict on that matter because the judge has decided it as a matter of law.

That’s why this option is the best: the JMOL eliminates the jury’s role for the issues it covers. The other statements don’t fit because a JMOL isn’t automatically an appeal, it isn’t about automatically setting a new trial, and the case isn’t necessarily never reaching a jury for every issue—only the issue(s) addressed by the JMOL are taken away from the jury.