Juror Concealment – By A Lawyer!

A lawyer who was selected to serve on a jury failed to disclose a prior personal injury claim during jury selection resulting in the reversal of a plaintiff’s verdict at the request of a co-defendant. In Pereda v. Parajon, 957 So. 2d 1194 (Fla. 3DCA 2007), the Third District Court of Appeal found that the lawyer, who is a shareholder in a large firm, clearly concealed her personal injury history. The Court wrote that is was “difficult to imagine that she did not think the questions posed by counsel applied to her,” and that, as an officer of the court, she had a duty to disclose her prior automobile accident and claim.

The Court stopped short of determining whether the lawyer’s concealment was intentional, noting that “a juror’s nondisclosure need not be intentional to constitute concealment.” The Court reviewed the standard three prong test in determining whether juror concealment should result in a new trial. Citing Roberts v. Tejada, 814 So. 2d 334 (Fla. 2002), the Court held that the complaining party must show: (1) the information is relevant and material to jury service in the case; (2) the juror concealed the information during questioning; and (3) the failure to disclose the information was not attributable to the complaining party’s lack of due diligence. The Court found that all three prongs were clearly established in this case, and ordered a new trial.