Omega Beyrer, Personal Representative of the Estate of Francis Charlene Johnson v. The Mule, LLC

Summary

The Oklahoma Supreme Court reviewed a premises-liability case involving alleged juror misconduct during voir dire. The court held that a trial court may examine the nature and circumstances of a juror's prior litigation when deciding whether nondisclosure materially affected a party's substantial rights, and affirmed denial of a new trial. The court left undisturbed the reversal of an award of trial costs and remanded for further proceedings.

Holdings

1. When a motion for new trial is based on a juror's silence during voir dire concerning litigation history, the trial court may examine the nature and circumstances of the prior litigation to determine whether the information was material to the action before the court.
2. The juror's failure to disclose his status as a named defendant in a motor-vehicle case did not constitute misconduct affecting materially the plaintiff's substantial rights because the prior case occurred fourteen years earlier when he was a minor, he did not consult a lawyer or participate in the action, the case settled shortly after filing, and he suffered no economic detriment.
3. The Court of Civil Appeals' reversal of the district court's costs award remained undisturbed because no party sought certiorari review of that issue.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a trial court deciding a motion for new trial based on a juror's failure to disclose prior litigation during voir dire may examine the nature and circumstances of that prior litigation to determine materiality.
2. Whether the juror's failure to disclose that he had been a named defendant in a motor-vehicle case fourteen years earlier materially affected the substantial rights of the plaintiff in a premises-liability action.
3. Whether the Oklahoma Supreme Court should disturb the Court of Civil Appeals' ruling on costs when no party sought certiorari review of that issue.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded