During a civil jury trial for a slip and fall claim, the plaintiff moved to discharge the jury following the defendants' closing address.
The plaintiff argued that defence counsel's closing submissions contained numerous transgressions, including misstating evidence, expressing personal opinions, referring to unproven hearsay, and breaching the rule in Browne v. Dunn.
The trial judge agreed, finding that the cumulative effect of the improper statements and trial conduct created a substantial risk of a miscarriage of justice that could not be cured by correcting instructions.
The motion was granted, the jury was discharged, and the trial was concluded by judge alone.
