Lioce v. Cohen

OPINION

By the Court,

Hardesty, J.:

The defendants in each of the four underlying personal injury cases were represented by the same attorney, who gave substantially the same closing argument on behalf of his clients at each trial. Asserting that defense counsel’s closing arguments constituted misconduct, the plaintiffs in each case sought new trials, with varying success. These consolidated appeals from the district court orders granting or denying new trials followed.

Because defense counsel’s closing arguments encouraged the jurors to look beyond the law and the relevant facts in deciding the…