Simona Halep, an athlete suspended for four years for doping, sued the company that produced the supplement allegedly contaminated with Roxadustat, demanding compensation of 10 million euros. According to ProSport, she asked for the trial to be decided by jurors, like we've only seen in American movies.
While waiting for the CAS decision, Halep is at war with the company that produced the supplement. Photo EPA EFE
The Romanian lawyers sued the Canadian company Quantum Nutrition, which operates under the trade name Schinoussa Superfoods. In the file made public by the Manhattan Court it is specified that Simona Halep requested a jury trial: “Plaintiff requests a jury trial on all counts.”
According to the specialized website juridice.ro, civil cases are usually resolved by settlements in the US courts. If no agreement is reached, then it goes to trial. The judge gets involved in the procedure from the beginning, as a mediator.
How jury trials are conducted
If he fails to mediate, he will be able to stay in the trial, but the one who decides will be the jury made up of ordinary people, who have no legal education. This system is a little more expensive and involves paying a $50 per day per diem and lodging if jurors need to stay overnight.
In the United States, there are two types of jury courts: “Petit jury”, consisting of a relatively small number of jurors, between 6 and 12 people, and “Grand jury”, consisting of a number of jurors that can vary between 16 and 23, having a much more specialized competence.
Simona Halep and her lawyers sued the Canadian company Quantum Nutrition for supplying her with a collagen supplement allegedly contaminated with Roxadustat, a banned substance found in the athlete's blood during a control during the US Open 2022. It should be noted that the incriminated substance was not found in the supplement by the ITIA experts, but only by the French doctor Alvarez, employed by the Romanian. As a result, our player was suspended for 4 years from the WTA circuit, until October 2026, the year in which she will turn 35.
