verdict-form

name	verdict-form
title	Verdict Form
description	Drafts civil trial verdict forms with sequentially numbered jury questions covering liability, affirmative defenses, damages, comparative fault, and special interrogatories. Enforces plain-language phrasing, logical conditional flow, and jurisdiction-appropriate formatting. Use when preparing verdict forms, special verdict forms, jury interrogatories, or general verdict forms with interrogatories.
author	CaseMark
author_url	https://github.com/CaseMark/skills/tree/main/skills/legal/verdict-form
license	Apache-2.0
version	0.1.0
execution_mode	open
jurisdiction	us
practice	litigation
language	en
tags	["drafting","pleading"]

Verdict Form

Drafts a trial-ready verdict form guiding jury deliberations through structured questions on liability, defenses, and damages for each cause of action.

Prerequisites

Gather before drafting:

• Operative pleading — all causes of action and elements
• Answer / affirmative defenses — complete defense list including comparative fault
• Jury instructions — draft or final, for terminology alignment
• Damages evidence summary — categories supported by evidence
• Local rules — jurisdiction-specific form requirements (signatures, special verdict mandates)

Quick Start

1. Mirror the caption from operative pleadings exactly
2. Add introductory jury statement
3. Draft sequentially numbered liability questions per cause of action
4. Insert conditional affirmative defense questions
5. Add damages questions conditioned on liability findings
6. Include comparative fault allocation if at issue
7. Add any court-required special interrogatories
8. Close with jurisdiction-appropriate signature block

Core Sections

Caption

Copy verbatim from operative pleadings. Include court name, division, parties, case number, and title "VERDICT FORM."

Introductory Statement

Standard language: "We, the jury, duly empaneled and sworn in the above-entitled action, hereby return the following verdict:"

Liability Questions

One sequentially numbered question per cause of action:

• Plain language — "breached the contract," not "material breach of the subject agreement"
• State burden — "proven by a preponderance of the evidence"
• Answer format — Yes ___ / No ___ with adequate white space
• Order — foundational claims first, then dependent claims

Affirmative Defense Questions

For each complete-bar defense, insert a conditional question:

• Gate on the relevant liability "Yes" answer
• Ask whether defendant proved the defense applies
• If "Yes," direct jury to skip to Signature
• If "No," direct to next question

Damages

Condition all damages questions on liability "Yes" + defense "No" findings. Otherwise direct jury to skip to Signature.

Draft separate dollar-amount lines per category: