Authored by: Ollie Lammers
According to Law.com, a federal judge in Cleveland dismissed a juror in an opioid trial for misconduct but denied mistrial requests from the pharmacies.
The juror was dismissed after admitting she had researched a topic brought up in testimony. The juror shared her research with everyone on the jury, which prompted the defendant to file motions for a mistrial.
Giant Eagle, CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens filed separate motions for mistrial, stating no instruction could cure the tainted jury.
One of the defendants stated the information shared with the jury "went to the core issues in the case…which plaintiffs have emphasized throughout the entire trial—whether a profit motive drove the defendants to oversupply opioids."
The Ohio counties' lawyers against the pharmacies filed a response opposing a mistrial after consulting their clients. The judge also opposed the mistrial and spoke to each juror, asking if they could be impartial despite the research they received from the dismissed juror.
The plaintiff attorneys also cited the jurors' responses after asking if they could be impartial during the case and if they remembered the research the dismissed juror shared with them. The plaintiff attorneys stated the jurors largely ignored the research the dismissed juror shared with them.
For more information on this case, click here to be taken to the Law.com article.
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