The Puppy Story

The Florida Third District Court of Appeal reversed a plaintiff’s jury verdict in a slip-and-fall case as a result of trial misconduct by plaintiff’s counsel. Counsel engaged in a variety of improper actions, that began during voir dire, where his questions began “setting the stage for his trial strategy: impugning the [defendant] and its trial counsel.” This approach culminated, as it often does in such a trial approach, with an over the top closing argument that accused defense counsel of hiding evidence and fraudulently preventing evidence from being admitted without any basis in the record. He also told the “Puppy Story” (quoted in the opinion) in closing argument, which the court characterized as an improper Golden Rule argument. (Mike Frisch)