Pekelder v. Edgewater Automotive Co., Inc.

• Decision Date: 05 October 1977
• Docket Number: No. 49051,49051
• Citation: 68 Ill.2d 136,368 N.E.2d 900,11 Ill.Dec. 292
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court
• Parties: , 11 Ill.Dec. 292 Donald PEKELDER, Appellant, v. EDGEWATER AUTOMOTIVE CO., INC., et al., Appellees.

Page 900

368 N.E.2d 900

68 Ill.2d 136, 11 Ill.Dec. 292

Donald PEKELDER, Appellant, v. EDGEWATER AUTOMOTIVE CO., INC., et al., Appellees.

No. 49051.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Oct. 5, 1977.

Joseph R. Curcio, Chicago (Sidney Z. Karasik, Chicago, of counsel), for appellant.

Kirkland & Ellis, Chicago (Donald J. Duffy, Chicago, of counsel), for appellees.

CLARK, Justice.

Plaintiff, Donald Pekelder, is appealing from the appellate court reversal (42 Ill.App.3d 1011, 1 Ill.Dec. 513, 356 N.E.2d 795) of an order for a new trial entered by the circuit court of Cook County. Pekelder brought an action for personal injuries against the manufacturer (Edgewater Automotive Co., Inc.) and distributor (Standard Unit Parts Corp.) of an automobile jack, alleged to have been unreasonably dangerous. The jury returned a verdict for Edgewater and Standard, but the trial court granted Pekelder's motion for a new trial on the grounds that a juror falsely testified during his voir dire examination. We allowed Pekelder's petition for leave to appeal.

A week after the verdict was handed down, Pekelder's attorney encountered the juror, Stanton C. Ascher, in the Civic Center in Chicago. At that time Ascher mentioned he was involved in a lawsuit. A month later, after further investigation, Pekelder moved for a new trial. At the post-trial hearing on the motion, the judge specifically recalled that on voir dire he had asked each juror whether or not he or she had any pending lawsuits or had ever sued or been sued. Ascher, who was chosen the foreman of the panel, had replied negatively. On direct examination at the post-trial proceeding, the following exchange occurred between the examiner and Ascher:

"Q. Now, do you remember if you knew at the time you were serving on this jury that you had a case pending?

A. Yes."

It was confirmed that Ascher was a defendant in a damage suit (in contract) pending, at that time, in circuit court. (Ascher testified he was a party in a second suit also.)

Ascher maintained he thought the court's voir dire questions referred to pending personal injury suits and that, because his suits were not personal injury actions, he answered accordingly. He testified that he had "put the red switch on" to end deliberations, which were only an hour and a half to two hours long, and that he had "read and interpret(ed)" the instructions to the other jurors. Ascher also testified that a week previous he had served on a jury, again as foreman, in which damages were returned for a plaintiff. Ascher noted that the initial vote of the jury, before any discussion occurred, was seven jurors for the defendant and five in abstention. Although Ascher was not found in contempt of court for failure to disclose his pending suits on voir dire, the judge expressed his doubts about Ascher's sincerity.

The issue is whether or not the trial court abused its discretion in ordering a new trial because of prejudice to Pekelder resulting from a juror's lack of disclosure of pending lawsuits during voir dire examination. We believe the trial judge did not abuse his discretion.

At the outset, we must observe that, contrary to Pekelder's contention, there is no constitutional question of first impression involved where there has been a lack of candor by a prospective juror during voir dire examination. That issue was decided by this court in Kuzminski v. Waser (1940), 374 Ill. 428, 429-30, 29 N.E.2d 594, 595:

"It is enough for us to point out that even if the juror was biased and even if serious errors were committed by the trial court in refusing to grant a new trial and if, as argued, the verdict is contrary to the weight of the evidence, none of these things go to the question of due process nor to the right to trial by jury.

Neither the right to trial by jury nor the guaranties of due process of law extend to any guarantee against erroneous or unjust decisions."

The general rule for cases involving motions for new trial due to jurors' false testimony during voir dire has been stated in Department of Public Works & Buildings v. Christensen (1962), 25 Ill.2d 273, 279-80, 184 N.E.2d 884, 886:

"Our decisions make it clear that a motion for new trial will be denied unless it is established not only that the juror answered falsely, but also that prejudice resulted. * * * This (is) a matter primarily within his (the trial judge's) discretion * * *."

On the question of the trial court's discretion regarding a motion for new trial, Christensen is in accord with Raub v. Carpenter (1902), 187 U.S. 159, 23 S.Ct. 72, 47 L.Ed. 119. (See also Stanczak v. Pennsylvania R. Co. (7th Cir. 1949), 174 F.2d 43.) The reason for this reliance on the trial court's discretion is clear; it has the better opportunity to study and observe the juror and his or her demeanor. Kuzminski v. Waser (1942), 314 Ill.App. 438, 41 N.E.2d 1008 (cited by cases and treatises in this area; see, e. g., 58 Am.Jur.2d New Trial sec. 48 (1971)).

Both Christensen and Stanczak, which cited two of the cases analyzed by the appellate court in the instant case, confirm that the standard to be applied in Illinois cases, such as the instant one, is that of prejudice. Therefore, to determine whether there has been an abuse of discretion, it is necessary for us to decide whether, on the record, the trial court properly found or could have found actual prejudice to Pekelder due to false answers given during voir dire.

In Christensen, a condemnation proceeding to assess damages, a juror, according to the affidavit of the attorney for Christensen, had denied during voir dire that she or any member of her family had any transactions involving land or property condemnation with the State. Another juror's affidavit stated that the juror had said, during the deliberations, that her brother had property condemned and...