Mcdonough Power Equipment, Inc. v. Greenwood

464 U.S. 548 (1984)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Greenwood (P) sued McDonough (D) for injuries related to lawn mower blades when they came in contact with P's feet. A jury verdict went to D and P motioned for a new trial. P claimed jury misconduct based on the fact that the jury foreman had answered a question on voir dire falsely. The foreman answered that he nor none of his family had ever been injured seriously, but it was discovered that the foreman’s son had suffered a broken leg from the explosion of a truck tire. That was denied. The Court of Appeals ordered a new trial based on a failure of a juror to respond affirmatively to a question on voir dire seeking to elicit information about previous injuries to members of the juror's immediate family had prejudiced P's right of peremptory challenge. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.