American Power Products, Inc., a California Corporation; Lfmg/app, LLC, an Arizona Corporation…

Summary

The court held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying a motion for a new trial without conducting an evidentiary hearing after a bailiff told jurors that one or two hours of deliberation should be sufficient. Although the communication was improper, the parties did not dispute what was said, and the statement was not objectively likely to prejudice an average juror. The court reversed the intermediate appellate decision, affirmed the trial court’s ruling, and remanded for consideration of unresolved issues.