Nodal v. Cal-West Rain, Inc.

After a valve assembly blew off a pump station pipe and injured plaintiff, he filed suit against Cal West on a theory of negligent design and construction. The jury returned a 9-3 special verdict that Cal West was not negligent. Plaintiff then moved for a new trial based on juror misconduct, and the trial court found that the juror misconduct did not prejudice plaintiff.The Court of Appeal held that the juror misconduct raised a presumption of prejudice, which was not rebutted by Cal West. The court held that jurors are not permitted to inject extraneous evidence, standards of care, or defense theories into deliberations. In this case, the juror at issue said that the Cal West design and construction met the "industry standard" and that anybody would have put the system together in the exact same way, and that anything that happened after the system was put together and tested was the vineyard's responsibility. However, there was no evidence of that, and the juror vouched for the design and construction based on his expertise as a pipefitter and farmer. But this case was tried on a negligent design and construction theory, and it did not matter whether ownership of the irrigation system transferred to the vineyard owner after Cal West built the system. Therefore, the court reversed and remanded. Finally, the court denied the motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. View "Nodal v. Cal-West Rain, Inc." on Justia Law