San Diego

A Superior Court judge Wednesday refused to declare a mistrial in the rancorous legal battle between former San Diego Chargers owner Eugene Klein and Los Angeles Raiders managing general partner Al Davis.

Attorneys for Davis wanted a $5-million jury verdict against him thrown out. Jurors found last week that Davis had maliciously singled out Klein as a defendant in his landmark antitrust lawsuit against the National Football Leauge. Klein suffered a heart attack as he was testifying in the case in 1982.

The Raiders’ lawyers contended that Klein’s attorneys made improper comments during their closing arguments. They said, too, that Klein had sought to influence the jury by promising in a radio interview that he would donate any money he received from the case to charity after paying his legal expenses.

But Judge Gilbert Harelson turned down the mistrial request, saying it would be a waste of time and money to retry the case. However, he said he would review the issues again after the punitive damage phase of the case, when the Raiders’ attorneys are expected to make another motion for a new trial.

If he granted a mistrial, Harelson noted, the decision could not be appealed by Klein’s lawyers under California court rules. But his ruling on a request for a new trial could be appealed by whichever side is unhappy with it.

Harelson postponed until next month the second phase of the trial, in which the jury will be asked to impose punitive damages of $11 million or more against Davis and the Raiders. Klein’s attorneys say well-kept secrets about the Raiders’ finances and Davis’ personal wealth could be exposed during the proceedings.

Tempers grew heated during the two-hour hearing Wednesday. At the end, Harelson imposed a gag order on Davis, Klein and their lawyers.