Barmas, Inc. v. Superior Court

Petitioners herein and defendants below, Barmas, Inc., doing business as Hair At Fred Segal, Michael A. Baruch and Paul DeArmas (Baruch hereafter unless context requires otherwise) petition this court for a writ of mandate and/or prohibition or other appropriate relief challenging an order of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Warren L. Ettinger, judge presiding, granting the motion of plaintiffs and real parties in interest herein, Francesco Galasso and Francesco Galasso, Inc. (plaintiffs hereafter unless context requires otherwise) for a retrial of the question of malice and, if necessary, punitive damages, after a jury hung on the question whether Baruch was guilty of malice. As we shall explain, Baruch’s petition lacks merit and we therefore deny the petition.

Factual and Procedural History

In 1999, plaintiffs filed an action for various contract and tort claims against Baruch. The complaint contained a claim for punitive damages. Before trial, the court granted plaintiffs’ unopposed motion to bifurcate the liability and punitive damages phases of the trial.

At the conclusion of the first phase of the trial, the jury found for plaintiffs and awarded them…