Barreca v. Monadnock Construction, Inc.

Summary

The Appellate Division, Second Department, affirmed an order denying the plaintiff's motion to set aside a jury verdict in favor of the defendants in a personal injury action. The court held that defense counsel's summation comments were either fair comments on the evidence or isolated comments that did not deprive the plaintiff of a fair trial.

Holdings

1. The summation comments were either fair comments on the evidence or isolated comments that did not deprive the plaintiff of a fair trial; therefore, the order denying the plaintiff's CPLR 4404(a) motion was properly affirmed.

Questions Presented

1. Whether defense counsel's comments during summation deprived the plaintiff of a fair trial and required the jury verdict on liability to be set aside.
2. Whether the Supreme Court properly denied the plaintiff's CPLR 4404(a) motion for a new trial.

Disposition

affirmed