§ 657.Causes For Which New Or Further Trial Granted

Title 8. Of the Trial and Judgment In Civil Actions · Chapter 7. Provisions Relating to Trials in General · Article 2. New Trials · Last amended 1967 · Last verified July 28, 2026

In one sentenceSection 657 lists seven grounds — irregularity in the proceedings, jury misconduct, accident or surprise, newly discovered evidence, excessive or inadequate damages, insufficient evidence, or legal error — on which a court may vacate a verdict and order a new trial, and requires the court to state which grounds it relied on and why.

Full Text of § 657

Text sizeJump to: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)

The verdict may be vacated and any other decision may be modified or vacated, in whole or in part, and a new or further trial granted on all or part of the issues, on the application of the party aggrieved, for any of the following causes, materially affecting the substantial rights of such party:

1. Irregularity in the proceedings of the court, jury or adverse party, or any order of the court or abuse of discretion by which either party was prevented from having a fair trial.

2. Misconduct of the jury; and whenever any one or more of the jurors have been induced to assent to any general or special verdict, or to a finding on any question submitted to them by the court, by a resort to the determination of chance, such misconduct may be proved by the affidavit of any one of the jurors.

3. Accident or surprise, which ordinary prudence could not have guarded against.

4. Newly discovered evidence, material for the party making the application, which he could not, with reasonable diligence, have discovered and produced at the trial.

5. Excessive or inadequate damages.

6. Insufficiency of the evidence to justify the verdict or other decision, or the verdict or other decision is against law.

7. Error in law, occurring at the trial and excepted to by the party making the application.

When a new trial is granted, on all or part of the issues, the court shall specify the ground or grounds upon which it is granted and the court's reason or reasons for granting the new trial upon each ground stated.

A new trial shall not be granted upon the ground of insufficiency of the evidence to justify the verdict or other decision, nor upon the ground of excessive or inadequate damages, unless after weighing the evidence the court is convinced from the entire record, including reasonable inferences therefrom, that the court or jury clearly should have reached a different verdict or decision.

The order passing upon and determining the motion must be made and entered as provided in Section 660 and if the motion is granted must state the ground or grounds relied upon by the court, and may contain the specification of reasons. If an order granting such motion does not contain such specification of reasons, the court must, within 10 days after filing such order, prepare, sign and file such specification of reasons in writing with the clerk. The court shall not direct the attorney for a party to prepare either or both said order and said specification of reasons.

On appeal from an order granting a new trial the order shall be affirmed if it should have been granted upon any ground stated in the motion, whether or not specified in the order or specification of reasons, except that (a) the order shall not be affirmed upon the ground of the insufficiency of the evidence to justify the verdict or other decision, or upon the ground of excessive or inadequate damages, unless such ground is stated in the order granting the motion and (b) on appeal from an order granting a new trial upon the ground of the insufficiency of the evidence to justify the verdict or other decision, or upon the ground of excessive or inadequate damages, it shall be conclusively presumed that said order as to such ground was made only for the reasons specified in said order or said specification of reasons, and such order shall be reversed as to such ground only if there is no substantial basis in the record for any of such reasons.

End

Plain-English Summary

This is the heart of the new-trial motion. A party aggrieved by a verdict or other decision can ask the court to vacate it, in whole or part, and grant a new or further trial, but only for one of seven listed causes that materially affected that party's substantial rights: irregularity in the proceedings or an abuse of discretion that denied a fair trial; jury misconduct, including a verdict reached by chance (provable by a juror's own affidavit); accident or surprise that ordinary care couldn't have prevented; newly discovered evidence the moving party couldn't have found and produced at trial with reasonable diligence; excessive or inadequate damages; insufficient evidence to support the verdict, or a verdict against law; and legal error occurring at trial and excepted to.

Two of those grounds get special treatment. A court can't grant a new trial for insufficient evidence, or for excessive or inadequate damages, unless it weighs the evidence itself and becomes convinced — from the whole record, including reasonable inferences — that the jury or court clearly should have reached a different result.

The order itself has teeth built in for appeal. It must specify the grounds and the court's reasons for each, entered under § 660's timing rules; if the specification of reasons doesn't accompany the order, the court has 10 days to file it separately, and the court itself — not the winning party's lawyer — must prepare it. On appeal, the order will be affirmed if any stated ground supports it, but an order granting a new trial for insufficient evidence or excessive or inadequate damages can only be affirmed on that ground if the order itself relied on it, and reversal on that ground requires the appellate court to find no substantial basis anywhere in the record for the stated reasons.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the seven grounds for a new trial motion in California?

Irregularity in the proceedings, jury misconduct, accident or surprise, newly discovered evidence, excessive or inadequate damages, insufficient evidence, and legal error.

Can a juror's affidavit prove jury misconduct?

Yes, specifically where a juror was induced to assent to a verdict or finding by a resort to chance.

Why does insufficient evidence get special treatment?

The court must weigh the evidence itself and be convinced, from the whole record, that a different verdict was clearly warranted before granting a new trial on that ground.

Who prepares the specification of reasons supporting a new-trial order?

The court itself must prepare, sign, and file it within 10 days if it isn't included in the original order; the court may not direct a party's attorney to prepare it.

Can an appellate court affirm a new-trial order on a ground the trial court never stated?

Yes, for most grounds, but not for insufficiency of the evidence or excessive or inadequate damages, which must be stated in the order itself.

Amendment History

Amended by Stats. 1967, Ch. 72.

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from the California Legislative Information. Enacted by the California Legislature. Last verified July 28, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: grounds for new trial californianew trial motion california grounds