Opinion ID: 2599829
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Independent Review of the Juror Declarations

Text: Because ordinarily a party who seeks a court's action in his favor bears the burden of persuasion thereon ( Aguilar v. Atlantic Richfield Co., supra, 25 Cal.4th at p. 850, 107 Cal.Rptr.2d 841, 24 P.3d 493), if here the NFL were appealing from a new trial order supported by the statutorily required statement of reasons, it would bear the burden of persuading the appellate court that the order should be overturned. (See Yarrow v. State of California (1960) 53 Cal.2d 427, 434, 2 Cal.Rptr. 137, 348 P.2d 687; see also Aguilar v. Atlantic Richfield Co., supra, at p. 850, fn. 11, 107 Cal.Rptr.2d 841, 24 P.3d 493 [explaining the difference between a burden of persuasion and a burden of proof].) But when a party such as the Raiders asks a reviewing court to sustain a defective trial court order, relying upon a ground stated in the new trial motion but not supported by a statement of reasons, the situation is reversed. Now the burden is on the movant to advance any grounds stated in the motion upon which the order should be affirmed, and a record and argument to support it ( Sanchez-Corea, supra, 38 Cal.3d at p. 906, 215 Cal.Rptr. 679, 701 P.2d 826) and to persuade the reviewing court that the trial court should have granted the motion for a new trial. Thus, the effect of the trial court's failure to file a statement of reasons in support of the order granting a new trial is to shift the burden of persuasion to the party seeking to uphold the trial court's order. The Raiders have not met this burden. We have described in detail (see ante, 61 Cal.Rptr.3d at pp. 637-639, 161 P.3d at pp. 153-155) the juror declarations filed in support of and in opposition to the Raiders' new trial motion. In summary, the Raiders alleged that Juror Joseph A. was biased and that Juror Linda H. committed misconduct. Because the trial court did not file a statement of reasons underlying its conclusion of jury misconduct, we do not know whether the trial court's ruling was based on the bias of Joseph A., the misconduct of Linda H., or both. Juror Joseph A., in his declaration submitted by the NFL in opposition to the Raiders' motion for a new trial, acknowledged telling the other jurors that he hated the Raiders, but he claimed that he said so in jest. Some jurors who filed declarations in favor of the NFL agreed that Joseph A. was only joking; but those filing declarations in favor of the Raiders said they took Joseph A.'s comments seriously. Other jurors did not hear or remember Joseph A.'s comments. Juror Alice I. said that she and two other jurors (Wayman J. and William S.) confronted Juror Joseph A. and warned him that by concealing his bias he could cause a mistrial. Juror William S. supported Alice I.'s statement, but both Joseph A. and Wayman J. denied that any confrontation occurred. Juror Linda H. acknowledged in her declaration submitted by the NFL in opposition to the Raiders' motions for a new trial that she wrote statements of law and taped them to the walls of the jury room. Linda H. and three other jurors said the statements merely copied the trial court's instructions; three other jurors said the Statements departed from the court's instructions. The papers taped to the jury room walls are not part of the record, and no declarant could say specifically how Linda H.'s written statements of law differed from the court's instructions to the jury. According to the declarations of three jurors, Linda H. told them Resolution FC-7 (see ante, 61 Cal.Rptr.3d at pp. 636-637, 161 P.3d at p. 153) could not be a contract, but the declarations of two other jurors said Linda H. only suggested that the jurors should get clarification from the trial court on that issue, which they did. In sum, the testimonial evidence submitted by the parties in the form of juror declarations is sharply conflicting on every material issue, and the Raiders submitted no other evidence to support their motion for a new trial. Consequently, upon independent review of the record, we conclude that the Raiders have failed to discharge their burden to persuade us of jury misconduct warranting the grant of a new trial.