In Sowers v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., No. 18-11901 (11th Cir. Sept. 15, 2020), where the defendant did not dispute that the plaintiff was erroneously denied a punitive-damage trial, the court holds that the Seventh Amendment Reexamination Clause does not command a retrial of liability. Sowers is an “Engle progeny” action, a case emerging fromContinue reading “New Trial of Punitive Damages in Tobacco Case Does Not Necessitate Retrying Liability or Compensatory Damages from First Trial, Eleventh Circuit Holds.”
Tag Archives: Jury
Negotiations Over Post-Termination Commission Should Have Been Excluded Under Fed. R. Evid. 408, Holds Fourth Circuit
In Macsherry v. Sparrows Point, LLC, No. 19-1281 (4th Cir. Sept. 1, 2020), a $1 million judgment in favor of plaintiff is vacated when the panel holds that evidence of negotiations over a claimed commission payment constituted offers to compromise a claim under Fed. R. Evid. 408, and thus should not have been admitted intoContinue reading “Negotiations Over Post-Termination Commission Should Have Been Excluded Under Fed. R. Evid. 408, Holds Fourth Circuit”
Under “Unique Facts,” Ninth Circuit Vacates Conviction Because Judge Improperly Dismissed a Juror Hours into Deliberations
In United States v. Litwin, No. 17-10429 (9th Cir. Aug. 27, 2020), the panel hold that the district court violated a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a unanimous jury verdict when it dismissed a juror hours into deliberation, based on findings that lacked support in the record. Fed. R. Crim. P. 23(b)(3) permits a courtContinue reading “Under “Unique Facts,” Ninth Circuit Vacates Conviction Because Judge Improperly Dismissed a Juror Hours into Deliberations”
