In Owens V. Unified Government Of Wyandotte County And Kansas City Kansas Case No. 23-3048 (May 7, 2024), the Plaintiff asked the 10th Circuit to vacate the jury’s verdict in favor of defendants and hold that the district court abused its discretion in denying his motion for a mistrial and new trial. Plaintiff’s lead attorney had conducted all pretrial litigation and was expected to handle most of Plaintiff’s witnesses and closing argument. However, midway through the four-day trial, Plaintiff’s lead attorney contracted COVID-19 and resorted to remote participation for the remainder of trial. The 10th Circuit declined to reverse, emphasizing Plaintiff failed to show how he was prejudiced by the district court’s rulings.
The trial court denied Plaintiff’s motion for a mistrial, finding that a mistrial was not warranted because: (1) Plaintiff had two attorneys; (2) co-counsel Mach was “doing great”; (3) there were only a handful of witnesses left to examine; and (4) Braud was able to share his witness examination notes and consult with Mach in real time by videoconference. After an extensive review of an admittedly rare question, the 10th Circuit affirmed the mistrial motion denial.