In a key opinion about mid-trial jury deliberations, the Massachusetts high court let stand a nearly $6.2 million judgment in a personal injury case.
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts’ July 16 unanimous ruling in Kelly v. Foxboro Realty Associates LLC, heard by six of the court’s seven justices, said that the trial judge committed an error by allowing jurors to talk about evidence by themselves during a trial despite one side’s objection. But the opinion, authored by Associate Justice Robert J. Cordy, also upheld the judgment and said the judge’s decision to allow the juror discussions didn’t harm the defendant’s case.
