Brokopp v. Ford Motor Co.
California Court of Appeal
139 Cal. Rptr. 888 (1977)
Robert and Carol Brokopp (plaintiffs) sued Ford Motor Co. (Ford) (defendant) after a single-vehicle accident, alleging a power steering belt had come off its pulley while moving. During opening and closing arguments, the Brokopps' counsel made several arguably improper appeals — urging jurors to place themselves in Mr. Brokopp's shoes on damages, contrasting him sympathetically against a large corporation, appealing to jurors' self-interest as taxpayers, and marking up the belt with a crayon to suggest visible marks — but Ford's counsel objected only to the belt-marking, not to the other arguments or to the substance of the marking argument itself. The jury awarded the Brokopps $3,010,000, and Ford appealed based on the allegedly improper arguments.
Whether a party waives its right to appeal a jury verdict on the ground of improper argument by opposing counsel when it failed to timely object and seek an admonition at trial.