Voir Dire during Jury Selection
In recent months, attorneys at Strong & Hanni have completed a number of jury trials. In those trials, it became apparent that many plaintiffs’ attorneys in Utah are requesting that trial courts ask jury panels voir dire on the issues of tort-reform bias and negative reports of personal injury cases generally. A careful review of Utah case law on this issue, including a recent case handed down by the Utah Court of Appeals earlier this year, shows that Utah appellate courts have taken the view that voir dire regarding tort-reform bias and negative reports of personal injury cases generally is absolutely necessary when requested by a plaintiff. It is clear from these cases that the trial court does not have the typical amount of ‘broad discretion’ given to trial court judges on voir dire when determining whether such questions should be posed. These cases further establish the right of a plaintiff to voir dire that allows a plaintiff to discover biases or prejudice in prospective jurors, which appellate court’s have concluded allows a plaintiff the right to the informed and intelligent exercise of peremptory challenges in the jury selection process. read more ...

Utah Appellate Update
The following are the cases contained in the Utah Advance Reports that are relevant to the insurance industry. read more ...

Utah Legislative Updates
Strong & Hanni is currently working with one of its clients, State Farm Insurance, to bring about a greater degree of fairness in personal injury litigation in the State of Utah. Strong & Hanni lawyers have long felt that the current pre-judgment interest statute works an unfair burden on its clients and their insurers. The current statute requires pre-judgment interest to be computed at 10% per annum from the date of loss rather than the date on which a particular medical expense or other special damage expense is incurred. read more ...