A judge has allowed attorneys representing Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital to question a juror in the Maya Kowalski trial after citing juror misconduct.
Judge Hunter Carroll ruled Wednesday that attorneys representing the hospital can subpoena juror Paul Lengyel to appear in court for a Jan. 3 hearing.
The hospital, which wrongfully imprisoned and abused Kowalski, had accused Lengyel of violating strict rules of conduct during the procedure.
Lengyel was Juror No. 1 on a six-member jury that decided last month that Johns Hopkins falsely imprisoned and assaulted 17-year-old Kowalski.
Kowalski was awarded more than $260 million after winning her lawsuit against the hospital in November.
Netflix's Maya Kowalski filed a criminal complaint claiming she was “sexually assaulted at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital” after winning a landmark lawsuit against the Florida facility for more than $261 million in damages
Lawyers representing the hospital, seen here, may subpoena juror Paul Lengyel to appear in court for a hearing on January 3
The hospital was found to have falsely captured and assaulted Maya Kowalski, seen here, in November
Maya's mother, Beata, (right) took her own life after being diagnosed with depressive mood and adjustment disorder after being separated from Maya for almost three months
According to the Tampa Bay Timesquestions to Lengyel will be limited to four issues raised by hospital lawyers.
This includes whether Lengyel shared information about the case with his wife Yolanda, who then posted it on social media.
Lawyers representing the hospital say Yolanda attended at least one day of the trial in Venice, meaning she could have heard lawyers' conversations with the judge that took place outside the presence of the jury.
Previous court documents show that Yolanda Lengyel was largely supportive of the Kowalski family on live YouTube feeds of the trial and in a Facebook chat group.
She is also accused of meeting with a social media influencer known as Jules, who, the motion states, is connected to the Kowalski family.
Cited as evidence is a video Jules posted to her TikTok page showing her giving Maya Kowalski her rosary before Maya's live testimony on October 9.
Yolanda is also said to have spoken on social media about questions her husband wanted to ask witnesses, and about a jury note that was sent while the jury was deliberating.
A motion in the case seen by abc7 states: “Much of Defendant's initial motion focuses on the alleged actions of Juror No. 1's wife.
“Defendant's motion states that Juror No. 1's wife attended the trial on October 30, 2023.
“Defendant points to screenshots from the media feed depicting a woman believed to be the husband of Juror No. 1 talking to another person in the gallery, whom Defendant identifies as “Jules,” who apparently has her own online show on TikTok and that would call up other online programs on YouTube.”
For eight weeks, jurors heard from the Kowalskis, doctors, nurses and experts in the $220 million lawsuit that was the focus of the gripping Netflix documentary “Take Care of Maya.”
The now 17-year-old was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) at the age of 9, but was taken to hospital with severe pain in October 2016 at the age of 10
Defense attorneys had previously attached a file to their motion for a new trial containing notes allegedly taken by Lengyel.
In it they claimed that Lengyel Dr. Sally Smith compared it to a Nazi German organization that they claimed he hated in the extreme.
In the note, each time Sally Smith is mentioned, the letter S at the beginning of each name is written differently from all the other S's on the page.
“Juror No. 1 printed the letter “S” normally on the entire bill, with a curve in the spine, EXCEPT he printed his “S” with sharp corners when printing Dr.'s name. Sally Smith,” reads the second additional movement.
“Both the second and third time Juror No. 1 mentioned Dr. Sally Smith prints, the letter 'S' has a shape identical to the symbol of the Nazi Schutzstaffel.'
However, the order issued this week rejected this claim by the hospital lawyers.
Maya Kowalski hugs her attorney Nick Whitney after a jury awarded her family more than $200 million on Thursday, November 9, 2023
The Florida hospital had claimed that Lengyel had an extreme dislike for one of the defense witnesses, a hospital worker named Sally Smith (pictured)
Exhibit A is a piece of notebook paper with notes from “Juror #1,” in which each time Sally Smith is mentioned, the letter S at the beginning of each name is written differently from the other S's on the page.
Maya, 17, was just 10 when she was removed by the state after doctors accused her parents of faking symptoms for her rare condition, complex regional pain syndrome.
The jury found that the emotional distress caused by her mother Beata Kowalski – who was not allowed to see her daughter for three months – led to her suicide in 2017.
The case received national and international attention after it was popularized in a Netflix documentary.
At the end of the trial, Maya, her father Jack and brother Kyle burst into tears as the jury's findings were read out in court in St Petersburg.
Jurors found Children's Hospital liable for false imprisonment of Maya, battery of Maya, fraudulent billing of her father Jack; inflicting emotional distress on Beata; wrongful death claim for Beata's estate; and intentional infliction of emotional distress on Maya.
The family argued that the grief-stricken mother fell into depression and eventually hanged herself in the family garage, but Johns Hopkins had vehemently denied that this had caused her death or abused Maya.