FIRST OFF . . .

A mistrial was declared Thursday in the case of a Westport, Conn., delicatessen owner vs. actor-boutique food kingpin Paul Newman after jurors said they were given a look at unauthorized evidence. State Superior Court Judge Howard Zoarski declared the mistrial after jurors said some depositions that were never entered into evidence were inadvertently turned over to them before deliberations began two days ago. No new trial date was set.The judge’s ruling reversed one he made earlier in the day when he instructed jurors to disregard copies of depositions from Westport deli owner Julius Gold and others involved in the case. Gold had alleged during the three-week, breach-of-contract trial that an attorney for Newman promised him 8% of the stock from Newman’s food company in return for helping Newman’s Own Inc. Newman said he once considered giving a gift of stock to four people who contributed to the food venture but Gold was not among them.