Ayala Defeats Plaintiff’s Motion for a Mistrial and for a New Trial in a Case Where It Obtained a Full Defense Verdict

Ayala is happy to announce that it has defeated two motions by the plaintiff in an effort to invalidate a jury verdict in favor of its client.

The case involved allegations by the plaintiff that Ayala’s client (the defendant) had “stolen” his barbershop while he was in prison for two years.

The evidence, however, showed that Ayala’s client waited well after the plaintiff left prison to effect the change for the barbershop’s agreed-upon price.

Evidence at trial showed that the plaintiff regretted the transaction and was highly dissatisfied with the price for the purchase of the barbershop.

Based on this “seller’s remorse,” plaintiff brought baseless allegations of “theft”, “fraud,” and “conversion.”

The jury entered a verdict for Ayala’s client on all theories.

The motions for a mistrial and for a new trial argued that the jury was prejudiced by testimony from the defendant that the DEA had picked up the plaintiff and taken him to jail. But the fact that the plaintiff was incarcerated in federal prison was a central fact in the case fully disclosed by the plaintiff, not the defendant.

As stated by attorney Eduardo A. Maura, “We are very happy with this order. Judge Areces was correct. There could not be any prejudice based on a fact that was fully known by the jury. The disclosure related to the DEA or any agency for that matter, was inconsequential. There was no evidence that the verdict, when they summarily rejected all of the plaintiff’s claims, was unjust.”

You can see the order here.

For more information about business disputes, contact an experienced attorney in Miami at 305-570-2208.

You can also contact trial attorney Eduardo A. Maura at eduardo@ayalalawpa.com.

Schedule a case evaluation online here.

[The opinions in this blog are not intended to be legal advice. You should consult with an attorney about the particulars of your case].