Defendants Appeal Mistrial in Heated Asbestos Case

A Philadelphia judge has declared a mistrial in a hotly contested asbestos case in which plaintiffs’ counsel amended a portion of his post-trial motion that originally alleged the verdict sheet in the case was developed because of alleged ex parte contact by the defense lawyers with the leadership of Philadelphia’s civil courts. Court leadership strongly denied any contact with the defense.

Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Senior Judge Esther R. Sylvester’s order June 28 does not give detailed reasons for granting a mistrial, only stating in a one-paragraph order that “upon review of the post-trial motions of all parties, the trial record, and based upon the motions at the time of trial and by both defendants and plaintiffs in their post-trial motions and briefs for the granting of a mistrial, and based upon the serious appearance of impropriety that occurred during trial, and post-trial, which is a matter of the trial record and of public record, this court hereby declares a mistrial.”