JIMMIE WILCOX AND ETHEL WILCOX, APPELLANTS,
v.
SCOTT LAWRENCE DULCOM, COOPER LOWER DISTRIBUTORS, INC., AND GATOR LEASING, INC., APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 1997-04-02
No. 95-2744
Before LEVY, GERSTEN and SHEVIN, JJ.
690 So. 2d 1365 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1997) Caution
Cited by 16 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

The Wilcoxes appealed a negligence verdict after discovering that a juror had concealed her prior litigation history during voir dire. The court reversed and remanded for a new trial, finding that the juror's concealment of involvement in a collections dispute and domestic action satisfied the three-part test for reversal based on juror misconduct.


Holding

Reversal was warranted because the juror's concealment satisfied the three-part test: the juror's litigation history was relevant and material to jury service, the juror concealed information during questioning, and the failure to disclose was not attributable to the plaintiffs' lack of diligence.


Headnotes

[1] A new trial is warranted when a juror conceals material information regarding their past litigation history during voir dire.

[2] The materiality of a juror's prior litigation history extends to various types of disputes, including collections and domestic actions, as such history may indicate bias.

Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“Reversal is warranted in the context of juror concealment during voir dire if the following three part test is satisfied: "First, the complaining party must establish that the information is relevant and material to jury service in the case. Second, that the juror concealed the information during questioning. Lastly, that the failure to disclose the information was not attributable to the complaining party's lack of diligence."”

Establishes the controlling legal standard for determining when juror concealment warrants reversal.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Jimmie Wilcox was injured in an automobile accident involving a commercial truck. The case proceeded to trial where the jury found Wilcox 10% at fault…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Jimmie and Ethel Wilcox filed the underlying negligence action which arose out of an accident between Mr. Wilcox’s automobile and a commercial truck. The case proceeded to trial where the plaintiffs presented evidence of Mr. Wilcox’s injuries and medical expenses. The jury returned a verdict finding Wilcox and the truck driver negligent, apportioning ten percent of the fault to Mr. Wilcox, and ninety percent of the fault to the truck operator and its owners.

After the verdict was rendered, the plaintiffs discovered that one of the jurors had misrepresented or concealed information regarding her past involvement in legal disputes. She disclosed during voir dire examination that she settled her claim arising out of an automobile accident before the case proceeded to trial. However, the juror did not reveal that she had been involved in a collections dispute and a party in a domestic action. The plaintiffs moved for a new trial based on this concealment and on the inadequacy of the damages. The trial court denied the motion and the plaintiffs filed this appeal. We agree that the issue of juror concealment raised by the Appellants warrants a reversal and a new trial.

Reversal is warranted in the context of juror concealment during voir dire if the following three part test is satisfied: “First, the complaining party must establish that the information is relevant and material to jury service in the case. Second, that the juror concealed the information during questioning. Lastly, that the failure to disclose the information was not attributable to the complaining party’s lack of diligence.” De La Rosa v. Zequeira, 659 So. 2d 239, 241 (Fla. 1995).

The litigation history of a potential juror is relevant and material to jury service, even if that history involves a different type of case. “A person involved in prior litigation may sympathize with similarly situated litigants or develop a bias against legal proceedings in general.” De La Rosa, 659 So. 2d at 241 (Fla.1995)(quoting Zequeira v. De La Rosa, 627 So. 2d 531, 533 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993)(Baskin, J., dissenting)). Accordingly, the materiality prong of the test was satisfied in the instant case when the juror failed to reveal the fact that she had been involved in a collections dispute and a party in a domestic action. The juror concealed her full litigation history from the trial court and the litigants. The trial judge below asked the juror, as she did all the potential jurors, “Have you ever been a claimant or a defendant in any kind of a case?” The juror responded, “I was hit by a student. We settled out of court. It was fine.” The juror did not disclose her involvement in the other two matters and, as a consequence, the second prong of the test is satisfied. See Industrial Fire & Casualty Ins. Co. v. Wilson, 537 So. 2d 1100 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989).

Lastly, the failure of the juror to disclose her full litigation history cannot be attributed to a lack of diligence on the part of the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs in this case acted according to the incomplete information given by the juror, much like the situation in Industrial Fire, where this court stated:

If Skislak and Industrial Fire had known of Perets’s insurance history with Industrial Fire, they would have been in a position to ask further questions relating to Per-ets’s relationship with, and feelings towards, Industrial Fire. However, because of Perets’s concealment, they were prevented from considering whether to ask further questions of Perets concerning Industrial Fire or from having Perets excused from the jury panel, either for cause or peremptorily.

Id. at 1103. It was reasonable for the plaintiffs to expect the juror to answer the questions posed by the trial judge truthfully and completely.

For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the juror’s concealment of her litigation history mandates reversal.

In view of the foregoing, we need not reach appellant’s argument regarding the claimed inadequacies of the damages.

Reversed and remanded.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Roberts v. Francisco Tejada, M.D., 814 So. 2d 334 (Fla. 2002)
    …erial in general, but whether it is “relevant and material to jury service in the case.” De La Rosa v. Zequeira, 659 So. 2d at 241(emphasis added). [Note 9] Materiality must be analyzed on a case-by-case basis, and we clarify that Wilcox [v. Dulcom, 690 So. 2d 1365 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)] does not mandate an automatic new trial whenever there has been a nondisclosure of litigation information. Based upon the facts and circumstances of this case, we find the prior lawsuit was not material. See Ford Motor Company v.…
    1 / 2
  • Birch v. Albert, 761 So. 2d 355 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000)
  • Francisco Tejada, M.D. v. Roberts, 760 So. 2d 960 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000)
    …m the nondisclosure. The court ordered a new trial, and defendants have appealed. II. It appears to this court that in the wake of De La Rosa v. Zequeira, 659 So. 2d 239 (Fla.1995), and this court’s subsequent cases, particularly Wilcox v. Dulcom, 690 So. 2d 1365 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997), there is a widespread misimpression that a losing litigant can obtain an automatic new trial if he or she can show that one of the jurors failed to disclose prior litigation history, regardless of the circumstances. The practice…

Previewing 3 of 9 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw