Juror Dismissed for Ethnic Slur Against Iranian-American Executive
Juror Dismissed for Ethnic Slur Against Iranian-American Executive
August 06, 2008
U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson in Riverside on Monday denied a motion to declare a mistrial sought by the maker of the lucrative Bratz doll, MGA Entertainment Inc., because of a juror’s ethnic slur. The jury already had found that MGA and its chief executive, Iranian-born Isaac Larian, had improperly aided a Mattel Inc. Barbie designer who created the concept in violation of his Mattel contract. The trial, which began May 27, was in its damages phase. But on July 25, eight days after the initial verdict, a juror told the judge that a fellow juror — identified in court only as juror No. 8 — had said during deliberations that her husband described Iranians as “stubborn, rude” and “thieves” who have “stolen other person’s ideas,” according to a court document.
