(Download) "Bigart v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co." by United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Bigart v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
- Author : United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- Release Date : January 13, 1966
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 61 KB
Description
Gareth A. Bigart sued The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in the District of Vermont for personal injuries. After a four day trial before Judge Gibson, the jury returned a verdict for defendant. Nine days later, Bigart moved for a new trial on the ground, inter alia, that Plaintiff's counsel has information and believes that a certain juror or jurors sitting in said cause had formed an opinion as to the result of the trial and expressed same before the evidence was closed and before the Court had delivered its charge to the jury. At the argument of the motion, plaintiff's attorney apparently merely realleged his information that an elevator operator had overheard a juror discuss the case before the verdict was rendered. Thereafter, Judge Gibson sua sponte interrogated an elevator operator who worked in the federal building. The attorneys for the parties were not present during the interrogation. The judge subsequently set aside the verdict and granted a new trial. The order states that one Fred Watson, while operating the elevator during one of the trial days, and before the case went to the jury, ""overhead one of the male jurors * * * say to another male juror that (in substance) the plaintiff shouldn't get a nickel as he was entirely to blame, and that he (the plaintiff) wouldn't get anything if he (the juror) could help it."" The order further stated that, in Judge Gibson's opinion, the issue of liability in this case was close and the fact that a juror had prejudged the case and communicated this fact to another juror may have had a prejudicial effect on the jury's determinations. Goodyear took this appeal from the order, and in its brief suggests the possibility that we issue a prerogative writ if an appeal does not lie.