Corporate Lawyer’s Anti-Semitic Statements Lead To Retrial

A partial retrial was called for in the Eastern District of Texas after a Cisco attorney made statements in court about plaintiff patentee Commil, an Israeli company, that both the district and federal circuit judges deemed improper. The attorney commented that Commil’s co-owner Jonathan David likely did not eat pork, asked whether his cousin was a “bottom-feeder,” and in closing arguments referenced the trial of Jesus. The jury awarded Commil $3.7 million in damages, but after Commil was granted a partial retrial in light of the Cisco counsel’s inappropriate comments, a second jury awarded the firm $63.7 million in damages.