7/24/2007
Luisi v. Harrah’s
In Luisi v. Harrah’s the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, upheld a Morris County Superior Court decision denying plaintiff’s motion for a new trial on the grounds that there was no reversible error where the trial judge properly controlled the use of the surveillance tape depicting her fall. Christopher C. Mauro successfully argued that there was no evidence that plaintiff was prejudiced by comments made by the trial judge to quell her attorney’s narration of the surveillance tape. Further, the Appellate Division agreed that plaintiff had virtually unfettered access to the tape as an evidentiary tool and disagreed with plaintiff’s insinuation that the jury was obligated to view the tape in any specific way, or at all, during deliberations. The Appellate Division ruled that there was no basis for a determination that a miscarriage of justice under the law had occurred such as would warrant a new trial and upheld the jury’s defense verdict in Harrah’s favor.