Summerville Development, Inc. v. Dorta-Duque

Summerville Development, Inc. and G.C. Homes, Inc. appeal the trial court’s order granting a new trial in the underlying breach of contract action. We affirm, finding no abuse of discretion in light of the improper comments made before the jury during the trial proceedings.

During the course of the trial, the attorney for G.C. Homes, a plaintiff below, made a number of improper comments in the presence of the jury. She also referred during closing arguments to settlement negotiations that occurred at the onset of trial. In the presence of the jury, Pedro Garcia-Carrillo, the founder of G.C.…