Garden Grove School Dist. v. Hendler

63 Cal.2d 141 (1965) GARDEN GROVE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF ORANGE COUNTY, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

JACK M. HENDLER et al., Defendants and Appellants.

L. A. No. 27346. Supreme Court of California. In Bank.

July 7, 1965. Fadem & Graves, Ernest L. Graves, Jerrold A. Fadem and Gideon Kanner for Defendants and Appellants.

George F. Holden, County Counsel, Clayton H. Parker and Hayward P. LeCrone, Assistant County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

McCOMB, J.

Defendants appeal from a judgment awarding them $73,000 after trial before a jury in a condemnation action.

Facts: On September 1, 1961, plaintiff filed an action to condemn property owned by defendants.

In January 1952 Mills, who owned the property at that time, entered into an option agreement with Goldring, whereby Goldring agreed to purchase the property at any time within a period of 10 years, upon six months' written notice by Mills.

In April 1961 Mills sold the property to defendants, Goldring's nominees, for $55,352.

At the trial, defendants' expert witness testified that on September 1, 1961, just a few months after defendants had acquired the property from Mills, it was worth about $120,000. The valuation was predicated upon favorable changes in zoning anticipated by the witness.plaintiff's expert witnesses predicted a different zoning change and arrived at an estimate of $65,500. The issue was submitted to the jury, which returned a verdict of $73,000.

[1] Questions: First. Were defendants denied a fair trial due to the misconduct of plaintiff's attorney? [143]

Yes. Defendants contend that Mr. Meline, trial counsel for plaintiff, committed error by his prejudicial misconduct during the trial and that his misconduct was sufficient to show a miscarriage of justice.

This contention is correct. Mr. Meline's activities and remarks during the trial and in his summation to the jury were prejudicially erroneous. He conducted himself in a manner which is completely incompatible with the dignity and decorous conduct of a judicial proceeding. In achieving the introduction of certain evidence, in alluding to facts not in evidence, and in making certain representations of fact, he made promises of evidence to support or connect which he neglected to fulfill. He alluded to his personal knowledge in his summation to the jury, and he resorted to insulting and derogatory characterizations of defendants and Goldring; he appealed to the jurors' economic self-interest and provinciality and sought by snide remarks and innuendo to impugn the motives and purpose of defendants and Goldring in seeking more for the property than the value testified to by plaintiff's witnesses. [fn. 1]