Bell v. Sabates

90 S.W.3d 116, 2002 Mo. App. LEXIS 1848, 2002 WL 31011883
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 10, 2002
DocketNos. WD 59833, WD 59855
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 90 S.W.3d 116 (Bell v. Sabates) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bell v. Sabates, 90 S.W.3d 116, 2002 Mo. App. LEXIS 1848, 2002 WL 31011883 (Mo. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinions

JOSEPH M. ELLIS, Chief Judge.

On September 2, 1998, Appellants/Cross-Respondents Beth and Robert Bell filed a Petition for Damages against Respondent/Cross-Appellant Dr. Felix Sa-bates in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri. In the petition, the Bells claimed that Dr. Sabates, an ophthalmologist, had been negligent in performing cataract surgery on Beth Bell’s left eye and in failing to diagnose certain problems following the surgery resulting in a significant loss of vision in her left eye.

Jury trial in the matter began on December 10, 2001. On December 15, 2001, [119]*119the jury returned a verdict in favor of Dr. Sabates.

On January 5, 2001, the Bells filed a Motion for New Trial alleging that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence, that the trial court had committed instructional error, and that juror nondisclosure warranted the granting of a new trial. The trial court held a hearing on the juror nondisclosure issue on March 15, 2001.

On March 30, 2001, the trial court entered an order granting a new trial. That order stated:

In the New Trial Motion Plaintiffs alleged misconduct on the part of four jurors, all of whom signed the nine-person verdict, by failing to disclose information of prior claims.
Juror Hull and Waldo did not testify at the New Trial Motion hearing. Juror Edwards and Williams did testify. Juror Williams had been sued nine years earlier and his response was that occurred during the time he was in bankruptcy and he had forgotten about it, when inquiry had been made on voir dire exam of the panel. That explanation is credible and believable and no intentional concealment is found. Juror Edwards presents a different result.
Juror Edwards had been sued two years previous to the trial and his testimony as to why he did not disclose is evasive, non-responsive, and unbelievable. He never stated he didn’t understand the use of the word “claim” in the voir dire question. The four affidavits of the involved jurors submitted by defendant are lawyer-worded and copy machine produced and are meaningless and add nothing to the equation. Four jurors don’t have the same version for not answering voir dire questions or give the same answer to the question.
The Court finds that Juror Williams intentionally concealed information as to his prior lawsuit and Plaintiffs are entitled to a New Trial as a result thereof and the New Trial Motion is SUSTAINED. In all other respects, the New Trial Motion is OVERRULED.

On April 6, 2001, Dr. Sabates filed a Notice of Appeal from the trial court’s grant of a new trial. On April 10, 2001, the Bells filed a cross-appeal asserting instructional error. Pursuant to the rules of appellate procedure, the Bells have been designated the Appellants, and Dr. Sa-bates has been designated the Cross-Appellant.

We first address Dr. Sabates’ claim that the trial court erred in granting a new trial based upon the nondisclosure of Juror Edwards during voir dire. During voir dire, plaintiffs counsel asked, “One of the questions I forgot to ask is how many of you or members of your immediate family or close friends have had a claim brought against you? Anybody had that experience?” Juror Edwards failed to reveal his previous involvement as a defendant in a personal injury case two years earlier in response to this question. The trial court granted a new trial based on this nondisclosure.

On appeal, Dr. Sabates argues that the question was not sufficiently clear to allow a finding of nondisclosure. He also claims that the trial court’s finding that Juror Edwards intentionally failed to disclose the information was not supported by the evidence. Dr. Sabates contends that the suit filed against Juror Edwards was an insignificant event and that it was reasonable for him to have misunderstood the question.

Parties to a suit have a constitutional right to a fair and impartial jury, and to that end, “ ‘[b]oth parties are entitled to unbiased jurors whose experiences, [120]*120even innocently and reasonably undisclosed, will not prejudice the resolution of the cause.’ ” Banks v. Village Enters., Inc., 32 S.W.3d 780, 786 (Mo.App. W.D. 2000) (quoting Wemott v. Tonkens, 26 S.W.3d 303, 307 (Mo.App. W.D.2000)). Accordingly, “ ‘[d]uring the voir dire examination, each juror has the duty to fully, fairly and truthfully answer each question asked so that determinations may be made about each juror’s qualifications and counsel may make informed challenges.’ ” Id. (quoting Wemott, 26 S.W.3d at 307). A motion for new trial will be granted if the moving party shows that a juror failed to disclose material information during voir dire that resulted in bias and prejudice to the moving party. Id.

In addressing a motion for new trial based upon juror nondisclosure, the trial court must first determine whether a nondisclosure occurred and, if so, whether the nondisclosure was intentional or unintentional. State v. Mayes, 63 S.W.3d 615, 625 (Mo. banc 2001). ‘“Intentional nondisclosure occurs: 1) where there exists no reasonable inability to comprehend the information solicited by the question asked of the prospective juror, and 2) where it develops that the prospective juror actually remembers the experience or that it was of such significance that his purported forgetfulness is unreasonable.’ ” Portis v. Greenhaw, 38 S.W.3d 436, 443 (Mo.App. W.D.2001) (quoting Schultz v. Heartland Health Sys., Inc., 16 S.W.3d 625, 627 (Mo.App. W.D.2000)). ‘“Unintentional nondisclosure exists where, for example, the experience forgotten was insignificant or remote in time, or where the venireman reasonably misunderstands the question posed.’ ” Id. (quoting Schultz, 16 S.W.3d at 627). The trial court is afforded significant discretion in determining whether a nondisclosure was intentional or unintentional, and its decision in this regard will not be reversed on appeal absent an abuse of that discretion. Id.

However, “ ‘[nondisclosure, whether intentional or unintentional, can occur only after a clear question is asked on voir dire.’ Banks, 32 S.W.3d at 786 (quoting Brines ex rel. Harlan v. Cibis, 882 S.W.2d 138, 139 (Mo. banc 1994)). In order to establish a claim of juror nondisclosure, counsel must have asked a question “reasonably calculated to elicit the allegedly withheld information.” Id. at 788. “If the juror’s answer or lack thereof reasonably responds to the voir dire question as it was posed, and it reveals all known and relevant information, there has been no juror nondisclosure, intentional or otherwise.” Id.

Thus, we must first determine whether the question asked of Juror Edwards was sufficiently clear to have elicited the information that was not disclosed from an ordinary juror.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
90 S.W.3d 116, 2002 Mo. App. LEXIS 1848, 2002 WL 31011883, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bell-v-sabates-moctapp-2002.