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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF KANSAS No. 97,494 KENNETH E. UNRUH AND ROBERT K. CARTER, Appellees, v. PURINA MILLS, LLC, Appellant.

SYLLABUS BY THE COURT

1. The standard of review for a district court decision to consolidate cases for trial is abuse of discretion.

2. Where the underlying facts and multiple plaintiffs' theories at trial are substantially the same, the statutory requirements for joinder are satisfied.

3. The pretrial order supersedes any pleadings and has the effect of amending the pleadings to conform to it.

4. If a party has an objection to a pretrial order, the party must file the objection in writing with the district court.

5. When the trial court grants or denies a motion in limine and the evidence is introduced at trial, the moving party must object at trial to the admission of the evidence to preserve the issue for appeal. 1

6. Proof of willful conduct under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act requires proof of intent to harm the consumer.

7. When a verdict is challenged as being contrary to the evidence, an appellate court does not reweigh the evidence or pass on the credibility of the witnesses. If the evidence, when considered in the light most favorable to the prevailing party, supports the verdict, the appellate court should not intervene.

8. The failure to object to a jury instruction invokes a clearly erroneous review standard, whereby a court must be able to declare a real possibility existed that the jury would have returned a different verdict if the trial error had not occurred.

9. The caption of a document submitted to a jury will not generally be a source of reversible error.

10. The issue of the district court's authority to award attorney fees is a question of law over which appellate review is unlimited. Where the trial court has authority to grant attorney fees, its decision is reviewed under the abuse of discretion standard.

11. A court may not award attorney fees absent statutory authority or an agreement by the parties. Without such authority, a trial court's equitable powers do not extend to the awarding of attorney fees.

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12. Where several causes of action are joined and only some of them permit the award of attorney fees, the work on the several causes must be segregated in determining an appropriate attorney fee award; however, where different causes of action are based on mutual facts and it would be difficult if not impossible for counsel to segregate the time spent prosecuting each theory, attorney fees may be awarded despite the failure of counsel to segregate the time spent on each claim.
Review of the judgment of the Court of Appeals in an unpublished opinion filed June 27, 2008. Appeal from the Sedgwick district court; JEFFREY E. GOERING, judge. Judgment of the Court of Appeals affirming in part and reversing in part the district court is affirmed in part and reversed in part. Judgment of the district court is affirmed. Opinion filed December 11, 2009.

Matthew M. Merrill, of Brown & Dunn, P.C., of Kansas City, Missouri, argued the cause, and Julie J. Gibson, of the same firm, was with him on the briefs for appellant.

Randall K. Rathbun, of Depew Gillen Rathbun & McInteer LC, of Wichita, argued the cause, and, Jack Scott McInteer, of the same firm, was with him on the briefs for appellee.

Per Curiam: On review of the judgment of the Court of Appeals in Unruh v. Purina Mills, No. 97,494, unpublished opinion filed June 27, 2008, Purina Mills, LLC, appeals from the jury verdict and award of attorney fees entered against it in a breach of warranties and Kansas Consumer Protection Act (KCPA), K.S.A. 50-623 et seq. action involving feed supplements supplied to two cattle ranchers.

A comparison with the record on appeal establishes that the statement of facts contained in the decision of the Court of Appeals is accurate and sufficient for purposes of review, as follows:
"Kenneth E. Unruh and Robert K. Carter are neighboring cattle ranchers. In August 2003, Unruh attended a seminar conducted by Purina Mills, LLC (Purina), to promote a selffeeding system designed to reduce labor, save time, permit cattle to perform to their highest genetic ability, and boost total net return. The system used a creep feeder that distributed a product known as '2HL,' which supplements a diet of grass or hay. 2HL is a mixture of corn,

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sunflower seed, cottonseed, and soybeans that varies from batch to batch. Purina calculates the cheapest mixture based on current costs that provides the promised nutrition content. This technique--the least cost formula--has been used in the animal feed industry for the past 50 years. Each bag of 2HL has a tag that guarantees the mixture contains a minimum amount of certain ingredients.

"Unruh was impressed with the system and told Carter about it. As a result, Unruh and Carter agreed to purchase the system. They received their first load of 2HL in late November 2003. They had no initial problems with the system other than regulating the flow of feed from the feeder. Tim Peissig, Purina's district manager, and Kent Hansen, the owner of the local retail distributer, observed Unruh's cows 2 weeks later and concluded that the system was working properly. However, Hansen noted that Unruh had no hay and very little grass available to his cattle and reminded Unruh to provide the cows with an ample supply.

"When Unruh and Carter received their second load of 2HL in late December 2003, they noticed that the feed had a different color than the first batch and was hard and oily in texture. They had to break the feed apart with crowbars and claw hammers to make the product edible for their cows. Over the next several weeks, Unruh and Carter continued to break up the 2HL in the feeders daily, but their cattle's consumption of the feed dropped and the cows began losing weight.

"In February 2004, Unruh notified Purina of these problems. Peissig and Hansen returned to Unruh's ranch, and Hansen again noted the lack of hay for Unruh's cows. Testing of the feed revealed that Purina had changed the formula for 2HL between the first and second batch. Sunflower meal increased from 5% to 15% and cottonseed meal decreased from 10% to 0%. Nevertheless, the mix met Purina's nutrition specifications.

"Peissig and Hansen attempted to solve Unruh's problems by delivering to Unruh a batch consisting of 80% 2HL and 20% corn. Pending delivery of this new batch, Unruh fed his cows as much hay as possible as Peissig had suggested. Carter also fed his cows more hay as soon as they began to lose weight.

"When Peissig and Hansen returned a couple of weeks later, nearly a dozen of Unruh's and Carter's cows had died and others aborted their calves and had to be sold at a loss.

"In August 2005, Unruh and Carter filed a suit against Purina claiming damages for breach of express and implied warranties. The court later granted them leave to amend their petition to include claims for breach of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act (KCPA), K.S.A. 50-

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625 et seq. Unruh and Carter never filed and served an amended petition which included their KCPA claims, though a proposed amended petition was attached to their motion for leave to amend. The claim was later set forth in the pretrial order.

"Purina moved to sever for trial the separate claims of Unruh and of Carter. The district court denied the motion. Purina also moved in limine to prohibit Unruh and Carter from expressing lay opinions on causation. In overruling the motion, the [judge] observed:

"'Mr. Carter and Mr. Unruh, their profession is in raising cattle, and in that respect an integral part of that business is feeding cattle and putting weight on cattle so that they can maximize their profits when these cattle are sold. And doing that kind of business, they acquire certain knowledge about cattle and what they eat and what they're fed, and I think that they are qualified to offer testimony in that regard.'

"At trial, Bret Galyardt, a Purina employee engaged in quality control, testified that cold weather and other variables may affect the flowability of feed, though not to the extent that a rancher should be expected to have to break apart the feed with a hammer or a crowbar. Peissig testified that he was aware that 2HL had flowability problems in very cold weather, but he did not inform Unruh and Carter of this because it did not happen very often.

"Unruh testified that the switch to 2HL did not reduce his labor or time or ensure his cattle would perform to the best of their genetic ability. To the contrary, he believed that his cows' inability to feed on the 2HL due to the flowability problem resulted in many of them dying or aborting their calves. Nevertheless, he did not disagree with the statement that Purina wanted him to succeed in the use of 2HL. He testified that the use of 2HL caused the death of 5 registered Angus cows, the reduced value of 14 other cows, and the loss of calves due to 59 cows aborting. Unruh claimed damages of $50,900.

"Carter's testimony was, for the most part, consistent with that of Unruh. He testified that the use of 2HL caused him to lose 4 cows, and he had to sell 16 other cows at a loss. He also claimed he lost 16 calves due to cows aborting. He claimed damages of $17,600.

"James Forcherio, Ph.D., Purina's expert, opined that Unruh's and Carter's cattle must have been starving to lose the amount of weight they experienced within the relevant 30-day period. He attributed the loss to the lack of adequate forage, not the second batch of 2HL. He testified that 2HL is only a supplement to help cows gain weight and should be provided in

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addition to an otherwise adequate food supply. In his opinion, Unruh's and Carter's cows would not have lost as much weight as they did, even when supplied with a bad batch of 2HL, if they were otherwise provided with an adequate food supply.

"The jury returned a verdict in favor of Unruh and Carter for breach of implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, breach of express warranty, and violation of the KCPA. On Unruh's claims the jury apportioned 20% of the fault to Unruh and 80% to Purina and found his damages to be $47,550. On Carter's claims the jury apportioned 5% of the fault to Carter and 95% to Purina and found his damages to be $17,125.

"After dismissing the jury, the district court discovered that the caption on the jury verdict forms incorrectly listed the defendant as 'State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company' rather than Purina. The court ultimately found this to be harmless and denied Purina's motion for new trial or, in the alternative, for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The court granted Unruh's and Carter's motion for attorney fees based upon their successful KCPA claims." Unruh, slip op. at 2-6.

Purina took a timely appeal. The Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part, finding that insufficient evidence supported the KCPA claims and the resulting award of attorney fees. Slip op. at 18-19. Judge Malone dissented in part and would have affirmed the district court on all issues. Slip op. at 23 (Malone, J., concurring and dissenting). Both parties filed petitions for review. The plaintiffs sought review of a ruling relating to the definition of willfulness under the KCPA. Purina sought review of rulings relating to the jury verdict form and the testimony of the plaintiffs on causation. This court granted review on all issues. See Supreme Court Rule 8.03(g)(1) (2009 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 66); Troutman v. Curtis, 286 Kan. 452, 457, 185 P.3d 930 (2008) (on granting review without explicit limitation, Supreme Court may review all issues presented to and decided by the Court of Appeals).

I. JOINDER

The district court joined Unruh's and Carter's claims in a single cause of action. Purina argues that joinder constituted reversible error because Unruh and Carter initially stated different theories of causation; they engaged in different farm management practices; and Carter had to 6

rely on evidence introduced by Unruh to support his claims of misrepresentation. The Court of Appeals found the district court did not abuse its discretion in joining the claims. Unruh, slip op. at 15-18.

The standard of review for a district court decision to consolidate cases for trial is abuse of discretion. See State ex rel. Graeber v. Marion County Landfill, Inc., 276 Kan. 328, 352, 76 P.3d 1000 (2003) (decision not to join parties reviewed under abuse of discretion standard); Tuley v. Kansas City Power & Light Co., 252 Kan. 205, 217, 843 P.2d 248 (1992) (decision whether to join parties in class action reviewed under abuse of discretion standard); Loucks v. Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co., 33 Kan. App. 2d 288, 302, 101 P.3d 1271 (2004), rev. denied 279 Kan. 1006 (2005) (decision not to consolidate cases for trial reviewed under abuse of discretion standard).

K.S.A. 60-220(a) provides in relevant part for permissive joinder of parties as plaintiffs

"if they assert any right to relief jointly, severally, or in the alternative in respect of or arising out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences and if any question of law or fact common to all these persons will arise in the action. . . . A plaintiff or defendant need not be interested in obtaining or defending against all the relief demanded."

K.S.A. 60-220(b) provides that the district court may order separate trials in order to "prevent a party from being embarrassed, delayed, or put to expense by the inclusion of a party against whom [the party] asserts no claim and who asserts no claim against [that party]" and in order to "prevent delay or prejudice."

As the Court of Appeals noted, Unruh and Carter raised cattle on adjoining ranches and used similar feeding practices. Both purchased feed supplements from Purina, and both suffered losses to their cattle. They raised the same claims against Purina. Although Carter testified in a deposition that he believed the nutritional content of the Purina supplement was the cause of his losses, he testified at trial that the clumping and poor flow were the problems resulting in the losses. 7

The underlying facts and the theories at trial were substantially the same, and the statutory requirements for joinder were satisfied. Even if Carter "needed to ride the coattails of Unruh's evidence" and in fact bootstrapped his claims onto Unruh's, the Court of Appeals correctly noted that Purina could have expected Carter to present the same witnesses and theories that Unruh did to support his case. Slip op. at 17.

The Court of Appeals concluded: "Rather than causing delay or unnecessary expense, the consolidation of these claims for trial had the exact opposite effect. Separate trials would have caused considerabl[e] delays and caused the parties and the court to waste considerable time and expense in the presentation of redundant testimony and exhibits." Slip op. at 17-18.

The Court of Appeals opinion accurately states the facts and reaches the correct conclusion. The district court did not abuse its discretion in joining the plaintiffs' cases for trial. We affirm on this issue.

II. SUFFICIENCY OF THE PLEADINGS

Purina next argues on appeal that the plaintiffs' initial petition did not plead a cause of action under the KCPA; although the district court gave the plaintiffs leave to amend their petition, they failed to do so, and the KCPA claims were erroneously submitted to the jury. The Court of Appeals noted that the pretrial order stated claims under the KCPA, Purina did not make a timely objection to the order, and the issue was not properly preserved for appeal. See Unruh, slip op. at 9-10. The analysis by the Court of Appeals is correct.

Whether a pleading is sufficient to state a cause of action is a question of law. See Tuggle v. Johnson, 190 Kan. 386, 390, 375 P.2d 622 (1962); Ewing v. Pioneer Nat'l Life Ins. Co., 158 Kan. 371, 374, 147 P.2d 755 (1944). Errors in law are subject to unlimited review on appeal. See Alliance Mortgage Co. v. Pastine, 281 Kan. 1266, 1271, 136 P.3d 457 (2006).

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Under notice pleading, the petition is not intended to govern the entire course of the case. Rather, the pretrial order is the ultimate determinant as to the legal issues and theories on which the case will be decided. Halley v. Barnabe, 271 Kan. 652, 656-57, 24 P.3d 140 (2001). The pretrial conference order, filed June 14, 2006, stated as the first issue of fact: "Did the defendant engage in deceptive acts or practices under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act?" The pretrial order supersedes any pleadings and has the effect of amending the pleadings to conform to it. K.S.A. 2008 Supp. 60-216(e); Bob Eldridge Constr. Co. v. Pioneer Materials, Inc. 235 Kan. 599, 606, 684 P.2d 355 (1984); Knowles v. Fleetwood Motorhomes of California, Inc., 40 Kan. App. 2d 573, 578, 194 P.3d 38 (2008);

If a party has an objection to a pretrial order, the party must file the objection in writing with the district court. Supreme Court Rule 140(f) (2008 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 220). A party generally must make a timely objection to a district court ruling in order to preserve an issue for appeal. See Dragon v. Vanguard Industries, 282 Kan. 349, 356, 144 P.3d 1279 (2006); State v. Anthony, 282 Kan. 201, 206, 145 P.3d 1 (2006); Price v. Grimes, 234 Kan. 898, 901, 677 P.2d 969 (1984).

The pretrial order sufficiently stated the plaintiffs' claims under the KCPA, and the order superseded any petitions or amended petitions that the plaintiffs may have filed. The KCPA claims were properly submitted to the jury, and we affirm on this issue.

III. EXPERT TESTIMONY

Prior to trial, Purina filed a motion in limine seeking to prevent the plaintiffs, Unruh and Carter, from testifying that the feed supplement caused the losses to their cows. The trial court ruled that Unruh and Carter could testify to causation based upon their experience as cattle ranchers. At trial, Purina did not object to the testimony of Unruh and Carter on the issue of causation. To the Court of Appeals, Purina argued that the plaintiffs should have been required to present expert testimony on the issue of causation. The Court of Appeals found that Purina had failed to preserve an objection to the plaintiffs' testimony at trial:

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"At trial, Purina raised an objection based upon the economic loss doctrine but failed to make a contemporaneous objection to the testimony on causation. Notwithstanding the adverse ruling on causation at the hearing on Purina's motion in limine, to preserve the issue for appeal Purina had to object to the testimony at trial. See Fitzpatrick v. Allen, 24 Kan. App. 2d 896, 902, 955 P.2d 141, rev. denied 264 Kan. 821 (1998). Further, objecting on one ground at trial does not preserve a different objection on appeal. 24 Kan. App. 2d at 903. Purina never objected at trial to the causation testimony of Unruh and Carter. Its objection on a wholly separate and distinct ground, the economic loss doctrine, did not preserve the issue for appeal. Accordingly, the causation issue is not properly before us." Unruh, slip op. at 15.

On appeal to this court, Purina attempts to avoid the failure to register a contemporaneous objection by arguing that the plaintiffs did not present any causation testimony. Purina maintains the testimony cited by the Court of Appeals pertained to damages, not to causation, and consequently, Purina could not have objected to causation testimony and did not fail to preserve the issue for appeal. In its initial brief, however, Purina argued that it was error for the district court to allow the plaintiffs to testify relating to causation.

An appellate court reviews a trial court's decision on a motion in limine under the abuse of discretion standard. Gerhardt v. Harris, 261 Kan. 1007, 1010, 934 P.2d 976 (1997). When the trial court grants or denies a motion in limine and the evidence is introduced at trial, the moving party must object at trial to the admission of the evidence to preserve the issue for appeal. Griffin v. Suzuki Motor Corp., 280 Kan. 447, 470, 124 P.3d 57 (2005); Fitzpatrick v. Allen, 24 Kan. App. 2d 896, 902, 955 P.2d 141, rev. denied 264 Kan. 821 (1998).

We have thoroughly reviewed the record on appeal and find that the Court of Appeals was correct in ruling that Purina failed to preserve an objection on this issue. The matter is not properly before us. We affirm the Court of Appeals on this issue.

IV. KANSAS CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT

The Court of Appeals majority found that willful conduct under the KCPA requires proof of intent to harm the consumer. Unruh, slip op. at 11. The Court of Appeals then found that the 10

evidence did not support a finding of intent to harm. Slip op. at 13. Having found that the claim under the KCPA was not supported, the Court of Appeals majority reversed the award of statutory attorney fees. Slip op. at 18-19.

In his concurring and dissenting opinion, Judge Malone questioned the majority's statutory construction but concluded that the record contained sufficient evidence that Purina intended to harm its customers. Slip op. at 20-21, 23 (Malone, J. dissenting in part).

Unruh and Carter appeal from the Court of Appeals' finding that willful conduct requires proof of intent to harm.

Interpretation of a statute is a question of law over which this court has unlimited review. Genesis Health Club, Inc. v. City of Wichita, 285 Kan. 1021, 1031, 181 P.3d 549 (2008). The fundamental rule governing interpretation of statutes is that the legislature's intent governs if this court can ascertain that intent. The court presumes that the legislature expressed its intent through the language of the statutory scheme. In re G.L.V., 286 Kan. 1034, 1040-41, 190 P.3d 245 (2008).

When the statutory language is plain and unambiguous, the courts therefore do not need to resort to statutory construction. 286 Kan. at 1041. "A statute should not be read to add that which is not contained in the language of the statute or to read out what, as a matter of ordinary language, is included in the statute. [Citation omitted.]" Casco v. Armour Swift-Eckrich, 283 Kan. 508, 521, 154 P.3d 494 (2007).

Only when the language of a statute is unclear or ambiguous does the court move to the next analytical step, applying canons of construction or relying on legislative history to construe the statute in accord with the legislature's intent. In re K.M.H., 285 Kan. 53, 79, 169 P.3d 1025 (2007), cert. denied 172 L. Ed 2d 239 (2008).

K.S.A. 50-626(b)(3) defines as an unlawful deceptive act or practice "the willful failure to state a material fact, or the willful concealment, suppression or omission of a material fact." 11

The Court of Appeals majority concluded that the word "willful" means something more than "intentional"; it must also include an "intent to harm the consumer." Unruh, slip op. at 11. It reached this conclusion based on two factors.

First, in 1991, the legislature substituted the word "willful" for the word "intentional" in both K.S.A. 50-626(b)(2) and in K.S.A. 50-626(b)(3). L. 1991, ch. 159, sec. 2. In 1993, it amended K.S.A. 50-626(b)(3) a second time to substitute "willful" for another use of "intentional" in that subsection. L. 1993, ch. 177, sec. 1. Because the appellate courts presume that the legislature does not intend to enact useless or meaningless legislation, see Hawley v. Kansas Dept. of Agriculture, 281 Kan. 603, 631, 132 P.3d 870 (2006), the Court of Appeals concluded that the legislature intended the word "willful" to mean something more restrictive than the word "intentional." Unruh, slip op. at 11.

Second, the Court of Appeals looked to PIK Civ. 3d 103.04, which defines "willful conduct" as "[a]n act performed with a designed purpose or intent on the part of a person to do wrong or to cause an injury to another." Slip op. at 11; see PIK Civ. 4th 103.04 (same definition). The Court of Appeals cited to three cases that applied the PIK definition to civil litigation in general: Heckard v. Martin, 25 Kan. App. 2d 162, 165, 958 P.2d 665 (1998) (under Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, PIK Civ. 3d 103.04 definition of "willful" required tenant have intent to do wrong or cause injury to another); Tufts v. Newmar Corp., 53 F. Supp. 2d 1171, 1178 (D. Kan. 1999) (citing Heckard and quoting PIK Civ. 3d 103.04 for proposition that "willful conduct" under the KCPA requires showing intent to do wrong or cause injury to another); and Griffin v. Security Pacific Automotive Financial, 33 F. Supp. 2d 926, 930 (D. Kan. 1998) (citing Heckard and quoting PIK Civ. 3d 103.04). Unruh, slip op. at 12.

This definition of the word "willful" in the PIK instructions was based upon language in a case heard by this court in 1908. See Railway Co. v. Lacy, 78 Kan. 622, 629, 97 P. 1025 (1908), reh. denied November 12, 1908 ("To constitute willful negligence, there must be a design, purpose, or intent to do wrong or to cause the injury."). It has remained virtually unchanged since the first publication of the pattern instructions. The legislature is presumed to be aware of the existing law when it enacts an amendment. See State v. Boyer, 289 Kan. 108, 116, 209 P.3d 12

705 (2009); Frick v. City of Salina, 289 Kan. 1, 8, 208 P.3d 739 (2009). We therefore agree with the reasoning of the majority for the Court of Appeals, find that it was correct, and affirm the holding that the use of "willful" in the KCPA includes an intent to harm the consumer.

Having affirmed the Court of Appeals majority on the question of the elements that the plaintiffs were required to prove, we must next examine whether the plaintiffs met their burden of proof under the standard we have recognized. When a verdict is challenged as being contrary to the evidence, an appellate court does not reweigh the evidence or pass on the credibility of the witnesses. If the evidence, when considered in the light most favorable to the prevailing party, supports the verdict, the appellate court should not intervene. City of Mission Hills v. Sexton, 284 Kan. 414, 422, 160 P.3d 812 (2007).

In his dissent regarding the sufficiency of evidence for the KCPA claims, Judge Malone summarized the evidence supporting the plaintiffs' case:

"Bret Galyardt, the quality control/warehouse supervisor for Purina, testified that Purina changed the formula for 2HL between the first and second batch that Unruh and Carter received. Purina increased the sunflower meal in the mixture from 5% to 15% and decreased the cottonseed meal from 10% to 0%. No warning was given to the consumers that this might affect the flowability of the product.

"When Unruh and Carter received the second load of 2HL, the ranchers observed that the feed was a different color than the first batch and hard and oily in texture. They were forced to break apart the feed with claw hammers. Over the next several weeks, the ranchers continued to break up the 2HL in the feeders daily but consumption by the cattle dropped. In the meantime, Unruh and Carter attempted to feed their cows as much hay as possible pursuant to Purina's instructions. Galyardt later testified that although certain mixtures of 2HL can sometimes be a little hard, it should not be so hard as to necessitate being broken apart by a claw hammer or a crowbar.

"Unruh notified Purina that his cows were losing weight. Tim Peissig, Purina's district manager, visited both Unruh and Carter in order to investigate and address the problem. Peissig was not aware that Purina and other companies varied the ingredients in their products according to cost. Peissig was aware that 2HL had flowability problems if it got too cold; however, he did

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not pass along this information to the ranchers because it did not happen very often. After meeting with Unruh, Peissig completed a product complaint report to Purina indicating that Unruh was doing everything Purina had recommended. The report concluded: 'Our formulation change certainly caused the cows to quit eating this product. We need to do what is right for this customer, who wants this product and program to work.' Purina failed to take any corrective action after receiving this report. Although Peissig continued to work with Unruh and Carter, both ranchers subsequently sustained loss of cows and calves." Unruh, slip op. at 21-23 (Malone, J., dissenting in part).

In addition to the foregoing, there was evidence that bags of the supplement "set up like concrete."

On appellate review, this court accepts as true the evidence and all the inferences to be drawn from it which support or tend to support the findings, verdict, and judgment below, while disregarding any conflicting evidence or other inferences that might be drawn from the evidence. When a jury's findings are attacked as being based on insufficient evidence or being contrary to the evidence, this court's power begins and ends with a determination of whether there is evidence to support those findings. If the evidence supports the jury's findings, this court will not disturb them on appeal. It is of no consequence that contrary evidence might have supported different findings if believed by the jury. Special findings by a jury are to be construed liberally on appeal and interpreted in light of the testimony to ascertain their intended meaning. Calver v. Hinson, 267 Kan. 369, 375, 982 P.2d 970 (1998) (quoting Brunner v. Jensen, 215 Kan. 416, Syl.

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