The judge overseeing a landmark trial in Gwinnett County refused to apply Gov. Brian Kemp’s new lawsuit-limiting legislation to the case Thursday as lawyers made their closing arguments to a jury.
Gwinnett County State Court Judge Emily Brantley is presiding over the first trial in hundreds of Georgia lawsuits alleging people were injured by exposure to ethylene oxide, a gas used to sterilize medical products at several facilities in the state.
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Brantley was asked Thursday by defense lawyers in the case to limit what opposing counsel could tell the jury during closing arguments, saying it was mandated by Kemp’s new law. The bill was signed April 21 , a week after the trial began.
One of the aspects of the law limits how plaintiffs’ attorneys can calculate the damages they recommend to the jury. In this case, the attorneys suggested their client is owed $27 million to $32 million…