Special verdicts and interrogatories to the jury are abolished.
Rule 49.Special verdicts and interrogatories
Current through July 1, 2026 · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 49 abolishes special verdicts and jury interrogatories in Indiana civil trials, leaving the general verdict — a single overall finding for one side or the other, with damages if any — as the only verdict form a civil jury may return.
Full Text of Rule 49
Amendment History
This rule’s current text took effect January 1, 1970. For the full history of earlier amendments and adoption orders, see the Indiana Office of Court Services.
Plain-English Summary
Some court systems let a judge ask the jury to answer a list of specific factual questions instead of, or in addition to, reaching one overall decision — a “special verdict” or a set of “interrogatories” that break the case into pieces. Rule 49 closes off both options in Indiana civil trials. The rule’s text is a single sentence, and its effect is just as direct: juries in Indiana return one general verdict, not an itemized breakdown of factual findings.
A general verdict is a single bottom-line decision — who wins, and if the plaintiff wins, how much in damages. It does not require the jury to explain its reasoning issue by issue. That simplicity is the point: Indiana’s rule favors one clean verdict over a system of special findings that a court would have to reconcile with each other and with the jury’s ultimate conclusion. Cases involving shared fault among multiple parties, or multiple claims, sometimes use verdict forms that walk the jury through preliminary questions — such as whether a party was at fault, and in what share — but these forms work only if they lead the jury to and support a single general verdict rather than functioning as separate special findings a court could review on their own.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean that Rule 49 “abolishes” special verdicts?
It means an Indiana civil jury cannot be asked to return a form that itemizes its factual findings issue by issue. The jury delivers one general verdict instead.
Can a judge send the jury written questions about specific facts in the case?
No. Rule 49 abolishes interrogatories to the jury along with special verdicts, so a court cannot submit a separate list of fact-specific questions for the jury to answer outside its general verdict.
What does a general verdict contain?
A finding for one side or the other and, if the verdict favors the plaintiff, the amount of damages. It does not spell out how the jury resolved each disputed fact along the way.
Does Rule 49 apply in federal court cases filed in Indiana?
No. Rule 49 is an Indiana state trial rule, and it governs only cases in Indiana's own trial courts. A federal case filed in or removed to a federal court sitting in Indiana instead follows the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Are verdict forms with yes-or-no questions ever allowed in Indiana?
They can be, if the questions guide the jury toward one general verdict rather than functioning as stand-alone special findings — this comes up often in cases involving shared fault among multiple parties, where a form might ask about fault and its allocation as steps leading to the jury’s overall decision.
Why did Indiana get rid of special verdicts and interrogatories?
The rule favors a single, clean verdict over a patchwork of specific factual findings that a court would otherwise have to reconcile with each other and with the jury’s bottom-line decision — a source of complexity and potential inconsistency that a general verdict avoids.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure (T.R. 49). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Indiana, under its inherent constitutional rulemaking power (reaffirmed by Ind. Code 34-8-1-1 and 34-8-2-1); originally enacted by the Indiana General Assembly in 1969. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
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