Bell v. State of California

Respondent was arrested by mistake; he was not the person sought under an arrest warrant. He sued those he thought responsible for the mistaken arrest. Trial was protracted, and at its end some of the appellants moved for a directed verdict. Their motion was denied. The verdict was for appellants, but was set aside upon the granting of respondent’s motion for new trial. The motion was granted on proof of juror misconduct. Appellants appeal from that order. One group of appellants argues the trial court should have granted their motion for directed verdict; all appellants argue the court should have denied the motion for new trial. On the first ground, the argument is that respondent’s case presented no basis for liability against appellants. On the second, appellants argue there was no jury misconduct, and if there was, it did not warrant a new trial. We conclude the trial court was compelled to deny the motion for directed verdict, and acted within its discretion in granting the motion for new trial. We therefore affirm that order.

Factual and Procedural Summary

The factual background of the case is principally pertinent to the directed verdict issue, and less so to…