Haluck

Plaintiffs James Haluck and Michael Litton appeal from a judgment in favor of defendants Ricoh Electronics, Inc., Larry Vaughn, Haruo Uesaka, Yoji Ide, Yoshihiro Nomura, and Houssam El Jurdi on their complaint for employment discrimination on the ground the trial judge’s misconduct so infected the proceedings they were deprived of a fair trial. Defendants filed a protective cross-appeal, claiming the trial court erred by denying their motions for summary judgment and summary adjudication on the ground the action was barred by a United States treaty with Japan. Defendants also filed a motion for sanctions against plaintiffs and their counsel, claiming the appeal is frivolous.

We conclude the trial judge’s conduct was sufficiently egregious and pervasive that a reasonable person could doubt whether the trial was fair and impartial and reverse on that ground. On remand, the case shall be assigned to a different judge. Because we reverse, the motion for sanctions is denied. As to defendants’ cross-appeal, the court properly found the treaty did not bar the action and thus we affirm its ruling.

FACTS

Based on the nature of this appeal, few of the underlying facts are…