Two articles on previous power outages at the Torrance Refinery.
John Bailey, President
Southeast Torrance Homeowners’ Association, Inc. (SETHA)
JUROR’S JOKE DURING JURY SELECTION “HARMLESS FUN”
ExxonMobil Oil Corporation v. Southern California Edison Company – 2016 WL 2:12-cv-10001, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
ExxonMobil recently lost a suit in which it sought $32 million in damages from Southern California Edison for negligently causing a refinery’s power outage. ExxonMobil sought a new trial based on a statement made by a man during jury selection regarding the refinery itself and its propensity for issues.
During jury selection, the man, who was eventually chosen as a juror over objection, stated the ExxonMobil refinery “blows up all the time.”
ExxonMobil requested a new trial based in part on the man’s statement and alleged the man’s statement showed prejudicial bias, which contributed or caused the verdict.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael R. Wilner disagreed and explained the context of the statement, since the man lived in close proximity to the ExxonMobil refinery. “When he made his comment about the refinery, that he was familiar with it and it was ‘the place that always blows up,’ I very clearly and objectively understood him to be making a lame attempt at comedy,” Judge Wilner said.
Judge Wilner provided a tentative ruling on June 22, 2016, where he stated he was “not inclined” to grant a new trial and the joke was “harmless fun.”
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Law360, Los Angeles (February 29, 2016, 4:07 PM ET) -- A California federal jury on
Monday cleared an Edison unit of allegations it negligently caused power outages at an
ExxonMobil refinery that purportedly led to nearly $32 million in lost profits and other
damages.
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