Kathleen Bender

Summary

The New Jersey Supreme Court reinstated the trial court's grant of a mistrial, holding that plaintiffs' counsel's summation comment urging the jury to infer a lack of independent expert testimony was prejudicial enough to require a new trial, and that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in barring defendants' untimely expert reports. The Court also reversed the Appellate Division and remanded for further proceedings. Justice Rivera‑Soto, in a partial concurrence/dissent, argued that the summation comment was permissible and that the mistrial should be affirmed.