Venture capitalist Kevin Kinsella won the pretrial skirmishing in his false-advertising suit against JAMS Inc. But the alternative dispute resolution provider had the stronger showing during the first day of testimony in San Diego Superior Court.

Plaintiff attorney Bryan Vess tried to make the case that JAMS executives padded retired appellate Justice Sheila Sonenshine's business credentials following an initial struggle to bring in cases. But he was stopped in his tracks by objections from JAMS' trial attorneys, with dozens of them sustained by Judge John Meyer.

More of the same may be in the offing Thursday when Vess questions Sonenshine herself about her business ventures and the handling of Kinsella's divorce proceedings. “Some things are interesting, and I'm sure you want the jury to know them, but they're prejudicial,” Meyer warned Vess at the end of Wednesday's proceedings.