Instructing Potential Jurors about Open and Obvious Conditions An “open and obvious” condition is not a total bar to recovery in premises liability cases because to hold so would interfere with the purpose of comparative negligence statute. Indeed, the “open and obvious” defense is in fact the dfense of assumption of the risk. The law notwithstanding, this … Read More
The Reasonably Safe Premises Test in PL Jury Selection
It is important to address the duties of a landowner during voir dire in premises liability cases. These duties include the duty to exercise reasonable care to make the premises reasonably safe for a business invitee. The possessor must exercise reasonable care to protect customers from unreasonable risk of harm, including in areas that look … Read More
Juror Biases and Their Identification Process in Voir Dire
I love the fact that plaintiffs’ attorneys get to go first in Voir Dire. Going first means that we have the opportunity to direct and control the voir dire’s initial focus. If we start talking about the defendant’s bad behavior, the jury will analyze that side of the story. Because jurors’ natural instincts are to … Read More
How to Approach Jury Selection in Premises Liability
The most difficult aspect of any premises liability case is liability; specifically, it is the fact that plaintiffs usually control most of the circumstances surrounding the injury. Plaintiffs in premises liability cases have control over where they are looking, what they recognize as dangers, and how fast they are walking. By comparison, people in car … Read More
Trial Report – Bend DUII Accident, Part III
The DUII-auto accident trial detailed in the last two posts took four full days. When they jury returned, they awarded my client the following: $8,350.10 for all past medical expenses. No future medicals. This was the most surprising part of the award decision, since they related all priors up to last November. No lost wages … Read More
Trial Report – Bend DUII Accident, Part II
The judge in the Bend DUII-auto accident case was the Honorable Kip Leonard from Eugene. He was an excellent judge – and funny to boot. The Defense Attorney was Brian Driscoll of Smith Freed Eberhard. He did a fine job and was easy to work with. The main issues in this case were as follows: … Read More