Societe Generale v. Federal Ins. Co., 856 F. 2d 461 - Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit 1988

A directed verdict motion may be granted only after the trial judge concludes, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-movant, that `(1) there is a complete absence of probative evidence to support a verdict for the non-movant or (2) the evidence is so strongly and overwhelmingly in favor of the movant that reasonable and fair minded men in the exercise of impartial judgment could not arrive at a verdict against him.\u27 Mattivi v. South African Marine Corp., Huguenot , 618 F.2d 163, 167 (2d Cir.1980) (citations omitted) (quoting Armstrong v. Commerce Tankers Corp., 423 F.2d 957, 959 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 400 U.S. 833, 91 S.Ct. 67, 27 L.Ed.2d 65 (1970)). We find that Judge Sand correctly granted the directed verdict motion, because Federal had no hope of sustaining its burden on its common-law and Uniform Commercial Code theories