Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

You do not need any motion to request a general verdict. How you request a special verdict is governed by local court rules. Most commonly you simply submit a proposed special verdict form along with proposed jury instructions and any other pre-trial submissions required by local rules before the pre-trial conference. Then whether to use it as submitted, modify it, or not use it at all is discussed at the pre-trial conference. If the discussion at the conference leads the judge to feel he or she needs briefing on the subject, he or she will ask for it. I have NEVER had a judge ask for briefing by the way. In large part this is because it is pretty much never the subject of an appeal, and so there is nearly no caselaw on the subject. The use of verdict forms is left to the discretion of the trial judge. It would have to be a gross abuse of discretion AND result in clear prejudice to the losing party before a decision to allow or not allow a special verdict form would result in the appellate courts overturning a verdict. Otherwise the choice of verdict forms is left to the trial judge's power to manage the case as they see fit.

I don't think Mr. McCormick fully answered your question. If you are assigned to a judge for trial, you need to consult with that courtroom's trial setting order. The trial setting order contains the information on whether or not the court wants a special verdict or a general verdict. Some of this will depend on what the lawsuit is about also, and the form is generated on pleading paper. All independent calendar or all purpose assignment judges have trial setting orders. I do not think it is wise for you to try your own case to a jury.