Ingelson

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff and appellant Eric Ingelson appeals from a judgment entered following a jury verdict in favor of his twin brother, defendant and respondent Steven Ingelson, on Eric’s cause of action for fraud arising out of Steven’s failure to pay back a $100,000 loan. Eric first contends that the trial court erred in denying his request for a waiver of court reporter fees for the trial, which prevented him from being able to order a transcript of the trial proceedings. Because Los Angeles County superior courts no longer provide official court reporters for civil trials, however, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying a waiver of fees for a reporter. Eric further contends that the trial court should have granted his motion for a new trial, because the court deprived him of a fair trial by: (1) excluding relevant evidence; (2) admitting evidence that Steven had not turned over in discovery; (3) omitting jury instructions requested by Eric; and (4) admonishing Eric, who represented himself at trial, in front of the jury. He also contends that the trial court should have granted his motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, due to the overwhelming…