Snyder v. Phelps

• Decision Date: 04 February 2008
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. RDB-06-1389.
• Citation: 533 F.Supp.2d 567
• Parties: Albert SNYDER, Plaintiff, v. Fred W. PHELPS, Sr., et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maryland

533 F.Supp.2d 567

Albert SNYDER, Plaintiff, v. Fred W. PHELPS, Sr., et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. RDB-06-1389.

United States District Court, D. Maryland.

February 4, 2008.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Paul W. Minnich, Sean E. Summers, Barley Snyder LLC, Craig Tod Trebilcock, Shumaker Williams PC, York, PA, for Plaintiff.

Jonathan Lawrence Katz, Marks and Katz LLC, Silver Spring, MD, for Fred W. Phelps, Sr. and Westboro Baptist Church, Inc.

Shirley L. Phelps-Roper, Topeka, KS, pro se.

Rebekah A. Phelps-Davis, Topeka, KS, pro se.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

RICHARD D. BENNETT, District Judge.

On October 31, 2007, a jury awarded $10.9 million in compensatory and punitive damages to the Plaintiff, Albert Snyder ("Plaintiff" or "Snyder"), for acts of intentional infliction of mental and emotional distress, invasion of privacy by intrusion upon seclusion, and conspiracy to commit these acts by the Defendants, Fred W. Phelps, Sr. ("Phelps"), Shirley L. Phelps-Roper ("Phelps-Roper"), Rebekah A. Phelps-Davis ("Phelps-Davis"), and Westboro Baptist Church, Inc. (collectively, "Defendants"). These acts occurred before, during, and after the March 10, 2006 funeral of Snyder's son, Marine Lance Corporal Matthew A. Snyder, who was killed in the, line of duty in Iraq.

The funeral was, conducted at St. John's Catholic Church in Westminster, Maryland. Defendants' acts included picketing as members of the Westboro Baptist Church and carrying signs that Defendants contend simply expressed their religious points of view. The signs expressed general points of view such as "America is doomed" and "God hates America." However, the signs also expressed more particularized messages, to wit: "You are going to hell," "God hates you," "Thank God for dead soldiers," and "Semper fi fags." Defendants' acts also included posting an "epic" entitled "The Burden of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder" on the church's website, www.godhatesfags.com, in the weeks following the funeral. The publication on the church's website of "The Burden of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder" expressed Defendants' view that Lance Cpl. Snyder had been "raised for the devil" and "taught to defy God." It was undisputed at trial that Defendants had never met Matthew Snyder or any members of his family.

In pre-trial motions, motions during trial, and post-trial motions, Defendants have contended that their actions and expressions were absolutely protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which provides that "Congress shall make no law ... prohibiting the free exercise [of religion]; or abridging the freedom of speech...."¹ This Court has held and continues to hold that the First Amendment does not afford absolute protection to individuals committing acts directed at other private individuals. The Supreme Court of the United States has specifically held that, First Amendment protection of particular types of speech must be balanced against a state's interest in protecting its residents from wrongful injury. Gertz v. Robert Welch Inc., 418 U.S. 323, 342-43, 94 S.Ct. 2997, 41 L.Ed.2d 789 (1974). Maryland particularly recognizes a cause of action protecting its residents from intentional infliction of emotional distress arising from outrageous conduct. Maryland also recognizes a cause of action for invasion of privacy by intrusion upon seclusion when there is an unwarranted invasion of a person's privacy which would be highly offensive to a reasonable person.

Accordingly, this case proceeded to trial before a jury on October 22, 2007 on three counts — intrusion upon seclusion, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy.² In rendering its $10.9 million verdict for Plaintiff, the jury found that Defendants' conduct was outrageous, causing severe emotional distress to the Plaintiff, and that there was an unwarranted invasion of privacy highly offensive to a reasonable person.

Defendants have filed post-trial motions for Judgment as a Matter of Law, Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict, Reconsideration and Rehearing, New Trial, Relief from Judgment, and Relief of Law and Equity. The issues have been fully briefed and there is no need for a hearing. See Local Rule 105.6 (D.Md.2008). For the reasons that follow, these motions are DENIED. There was also more than sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict on Defendants' liability. There was more than sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict that Defendants' conduct before, during, and after the funeral of Matthew Snyder was outrageous, designed to inflict emotional distress upon Plaintiff, and that the intrusion upon the seclusion of Plaintiff and his family was highly offensive to a reasonable person.

Defendants have also moved for remittitur, contending that the jury's verdict was grossly excessive. For the reasons that follow, the Motions for Remittitur are DENIED in part and GRANTED in part. Applying state common law standards, this Court upholds the verdict of the jury and the compensatory damage award of $2.9 million. However, under both federal constitutional and state common law standards, this Court reduces the total punitive damages award against all Defendants to $2.1 million.³ Accordingly, the total award of damages in this case is reduced to $5 million.

Defendants have also filed Motions to Stay the execution of the judgment. Those motions remain pending before this Court until a determination of the security to be provided by Defendants for the revised judgment in this case has been made.

BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The facts of this case as presented at trial were largely undisputed. On March 3, 2006, Marine Lance Corporal Matthew A. Snyder was lolled in Iraq in the line of duty. Shortly thereafter, two United States Marines came to the home of the Plaintiff, Albert Snyder, and told him that his son had died. As Matthew Snyder had lived in Westminster, Maryland, and graduated from Westminster High School, St. John's Catholic Church in Westminster was selected as the site for his funeral, which was scheduled for March 10, 2006. Obituary notices were placed in local newspapers providing notice of the time and location of the funeral.

Defendant Fred W. Phelps, Sr., founded Defendant Westboro Baptist Church, Inc. in Topeka, Kansas, in 1955. For fifty-two years, he has been the only pastor of the church, which has approximately sixty or Seventy' members, fifty of whom are his children, grandchildren, or in-laws. Among these family members are Defendants Shirley L. Phelps-Roper and Rebekah A. Phelps-Davis. There are approximately ten to twenty members of the church who are not related to Phelps by blood or marriage. According to the testimony of Defendants' expert, the members of this church practice a "fire and brimstone" fundamentalist religious faith. Among their religious beliefs is that God hates homosexuality and hates and punishes America for its tolerance of homosexuality, particularly in the United States military. Members of the church have increasingly picketed funerals to assert these beliefs. Defendants have also established a website identified as www. godhatesfags.com in order to publicize their religious viewpoint.

Defendants' testimony at trial established that their picketing efforts gained increased attention when they began to picket funerals of soldiers killed in recent years. Members of the Phelps family prepare signs at an on-site sign shop at their Kansas church to take with them in their travels. They also utilize an on-site production facility to produce videos displayed on the church's website.

Phelps testified that members of the Westboro Baptist Church learned, of Lance Cpl. Snyder's funeral and issued a news release on March 8, 2006, announcing that members of the Phelps family intended to come to Westminster, Maryland, and picket the funeral. On March 10, 2006, Phelps, his daughters Phelps-Roper and Phelps-Davis, and four of his grandchildren arrived in Westminster, Maryland, to picket Matthew Snyder's funeral. None of the Defendants ever met, any members of the Snyder family.

Defendants' rationale was quite simple. They traveled to Matthew Snyder's funeral in order to publicize their message of God's hatred of America "for its tolerance of homosexuality. In Plaintiffs eyes, Defendants turned the funeral for his son into a "media circus for their benefit." By notifying police officials in advance, Defendants recognized that there would be a reaction in the community. They carried signs which expressed general messages such as "God Hates the USA," "America is doomed," "Pope in hell," and "Fag troops." The signs also carried more specific messages, to wit: "You're going to hell," "God hates you," "Semper fi fags," and "Thank God for dead soldiers." Phelps testified that it was Defendants'"duty" to deliver the message "whether they want to hear it or not." Lance Cpl. Snyder's funeral was thus utilized by Defendants as the vehicle for this message.

It was undisputed at trial that Defendants complied with local ordinances and police directions with respect to being a certain distance from the church. Furthermore, it was established at trial that Snyder did not actually see the signs until he saw a television program later that day with footage of the Phelps family at his son's funeral.

Defendants' utilization of Matthew Snyder's funeral to publicize their message continued after the actual funeral on March 10, 2006. After returning to Kansas, Phelps-Roper published an "epic" on the church's website, www.godhatesfags. com. In "The Burden of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder" (Pl.'s Trial Ex. 20), Phelps-Roper stated that Albert Snyder and his ex-wife "taught Matthew to defy his creator," "raised him for the devil," and "taught him that God was a liar." In the aftermath of his son's funeral, Snyder learned that there was reference to his son on the Internet after running a search on Google. Through the use of...