2025 Trial Skills Institute The Psychology of Trials-2025 Trial Skills Institute The Psychology of Trials

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The transcript covers the opening remarks, plaintiff and defense openings, and a mock jury focus group for a toxic tort mold case involving a landlord and a family of tenants with two children.<br /><br />Jeff Jones introduced the 2025 Trial Skills Institute, explained CLE credit, polling requirements, and the Q&A process. He then introduced the speakers: plaintiff’s counsel Jedediah Bressman, defense counsel Matthew Schrader, and jury consultant Jennifer Kucilich.<br /><br />Bressman argued that landlords must keep homes safe, inspect for hazards, and disclose water damage and mold. He claimed the apartment had hidden mold from roof leaks, water stains were painted over, the HVAC filter was filthy, and mold exposure caused illness in the children. Schrader countered that the landlord could not fix problems it was never told about, that the tenants did not report mold or odors, that the roof issue was repaired after notice, and that the mold testing did not reliably prove causation. He emphasized that mold is common and the plaintiffs still had to prove it caused their illnesses.<br /><br />The focus group then deliberated. Jurors largely leaned toward the defense on negligence, saying the landlord lacked notice and responded when told about roof issues. They questioned whether the dirty filter actually caused mold, whether painting over stains was necessarily wrongful, and whether the plaintiffs had waited too long to complain. However, several jurors wanted more information on who changed the filter, whether the landlord was a company, the timeline of sickness, and expert testimony linking the mold to the symptoms. They were more skeptical of the fraud claim and generally thought damages would not be extremely high unless stronger medical proof existed.<br /><br />Overall, jurors saw the case as one of poor communication and unclear proof rather than clear landlord wrongdoing.

Keywords

mold

toxic tort

landlord

tenant

roof leaks

water damage

HVAC filter

plaintiff

defense

jury focus group

negligence

causation

fraud claim

expert testimony

CLE credit