The State - News from July 6, 1989

Joseph Gallo is seeking a new trial in the bitter trademark-infringement case he recently lost to his older brothers, wine makers Ernest and Julio Gallo. In a motion filed in U.S. District Court in Fresno, Joseph Gallo’s attorneys said U.S. District Judge Robert E. Coyle appeared to have been prejudiced in favor of Ernest and Julio Gallo because they were represented by the judge’s former law firm. One member of that firm, Oliver Wanger, belittled the request for a new trial, saying that Joseph Gallo’s lawyers specifically asked Coyle to hear the case, even though his past ties to the firm were well known.