SMITH, Chief Judge.
Allstate Property and Casualty Insurance Co. ("Allstate") appeals a jury verdict in favor of homeowner Ahsaki Gordon on a breach of contract claim. Allstate's appeal primarily concerns its claim that the District Court erred by allowing the jury to consider Gordon's reasonable expectations of insurance coverage. We conclude that any error was harmless, and will affirm the judgment of the District Court.
After a storm, on March 10 and 11, 2015, portions of the stone façade of Gordon's home collapsed. Allstate denied Gordon's claim for coverage on the basis that her policy was limited to "sudden and accidental physical loss to the property" caused by a named peril, including windstorms. J.A. 73a. According to Allstate, the damage to Gordon's home was caused by neglect, not the storm.
On June 3, 2015, Gordon filed a one-count breach of contract complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Housing Finance Agency ("PHFA"), Gordon's mortgagee, was joined as a plaintiff. After a four-day trial, the jury returned a verdict for Gordon, finding that she and PHFA "proved by a preponderance of the evidence that the collapse of the exterior wall . . . was a sudden and accidental physical loss caused by a windstorm as covered under her policy with defendant." J.A. 724a. The jury awarded Gordon $177,684.74, and the District Court entered judgment accordingly. After Allstate moved for, and was denied, judgment as a matter of law and a new trial, Allstate timely filed this appeal.
At trial, Allstate filed a motion in limine seeking to prevent Gordon from testifying about her reasonable expectations of coverage. The District Court denied Allstate's motion, permitted the testimony, and later provided instructions to the jury concerning that testimony.
Even if Allstate could demonstrate that Gordon's testimony should have been excluded as a matter of Pennsylvania law,
Here, any error would be harmless because Gordon presented sufficient evidence to support the jury's determination that the collapse of Gordon's home was a "sudden and accidental physical loss caused by a windstorm as covered under her policy with defendant." J.A. 724a. For instance, Gordon presented expert testimony from an engineer who opined that the collapse was a sudden, catastrophic event and that "the wind damage [wa]s the final nail in the coffin that cause[d] the collapse of this. . . . [He] would attribute this [collapse] more to a wind event. . . ." J.A. 475a-76a. Gordon also presented testimony from the contractor who repaired her home, who personally observed that "there was damage by the scupper box along the fascia board which in [his] assessment had blown off and turned into a catch funnel." J.A. 337a.
Because Gordon presented ample evidence to support the determination that the loss was caused by a windstorm—and therefore was covered by the express terms of the contract—it is highly probable that the jury would have reached that same result even without Gordon's reasonable expectations testimony. Any claimed error in admitting Gordon's reasonable expectations of coverage—and any related error in instructing the jury regarding that evidence—was therefore harmless.
Allstate also contends that the District Court erred in denying its motion for judgment as a matter of law because, according to Allstate, the evidence presented at trial demonstrated that the "predominant cause" of the damage to Gordon's home was a lack of maintenance, and the loss was therefore not covered by the policy. The District Court denied Allstate's motion at trial, as well as its renewed post-trial motion.
A motion for judgment as a matter of law "should be granted only if, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmovant and giving it the advantage of every fair and reasonable inference, there is insufficient evidence from which a jury reasonably could find liability." Avaya Inc. v. Telecom Labs, Inc., 838 F.3d 354, 373 (3d Cir. 2016) (quoting Lightning Lube, Inc. v. Witco Corp., 4 F.3d 1153, 1166 (3d Cir. 1993)). Such a motion should be granted only sparingly. Goodman v. Pa. Turnpike Comm'n, 293 F.3d 655, 665 (3d Cir. 2002).
As already discussed, we are satisfied that the jury's verdict rested upon sufficient evidence of liability. Accordingly, the District Court properly denied Allstate's motion.
For the foregoing reasons, we will affirm the judgment of the District Court.