Dobson v. Camden
| Decision Date | 26 May 1983 |
| Docket Number | No. 82-2066,82-2066 |
| Citation | 705 F.2d 759 |
| Parties | Willie DOBSON, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. D.R. CAMDEN, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
D. Reid Walker, Houston, Tex., for defendant-appellant.
Lovell W. Aldrich, Houston, Tex., for plaintiff-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Before BROWN, GOLDBERG and HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judges.
This case raises the interesting and knotty question of what credit, if any, should be given a nonsettling section 1983 defendant because of a pretrial settlement between the plaintiff and a codefendant joint tortfeasor. The issue is complicated in this case by the facts that the settling tortfeasor was also being sued for other torts and that the amount of the settlement was not segregated by claim. We hold that the dual policies of section 1983, compensation and deterrence, allow credit for a settlement by a joint tortfeasor in proportion to the amount of the injury caused by that tortfeasor; thus, if a settling tortfeasor is found to have caused one-third of the plaintiff's damage, a nonsettling tortfeasor is entitled a credit of one-third of the amount of damages found by the jury, regardless the amount of the settlement. Because the district court applied a different rule, we reverse and remand.
The facts of this case are relatively simple and not particularly relevant to any of the legal issues involved. Plaintiff Willie Dobson, who worked for an auto parts company in Arkansas, came to Houston for a convention of automobile parts distributors. During the course of his stay, he and several fellow conventioneers went into a Denny's restaurant at about 7:00 p.m., where they had dinner and a few drinks. Later in the evening most of group returned to their adjacent hotel, but Dobson and another man stayed discussing business. Later in the evening the two had another meal and Dobson's companion left. Dobson retired to the men's restroom.
The assistant manager became worried by the length of time Dobson was spending in the men's room. Fearful that Dobson might be trying to avoid his fiscal duty to Denny's, the assistant manager asked some Houston policemen then present in Denny's to check up on Dobson. The policemen, went into the men's room and apprehended Dobson. He was arrested and put in jail for the night.
The next morning Dobson was released from jail. He returned to his hotel and then proceeded to the hospital. At various times between Dobson's arrest in the Denny's men's room and his release the next morning Dobson had been severely beaten by the Houston police. These injuries caused his hospitalization in Houston, subsequent medical treatment, and various other consequential damages.
On July 7, 1977, Dobson filed suit against Camden, two other police officers, the City of Houston, the mayor, and the police chief under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 (1976). The essence of the suit was that policeman Camden and the two other officers had used excessive force in arresting Dobson, violating his constitutional rights. On January 11, 1978, Dobson amended his complaint to include Denny's, Inc. as a codefendant. The claims against Denny's included pendant state claims for false arrest and malicious prosecution as well as a claim under section 1983 that Denny's had conspired with the officers Denny's settled with Dobson for $30,000 prior to trial, and the case proceeded to trial against the remaining defendants. Before the case was submitted to the jury, the trial court granted a directed verdict in favor of the police chief and the mayor. The court submitted issues to the jury on liability of the city and the three officers and on nine different elements of damages flowing from the use of excessive force. No issues were submitted regarding Denny's liability or damages for false arrest or malicious prosecution. The jury found Camden alone liable.
to violate Dobson's constitutional rights.
The jury apparently decided to award Dobson $25,000 one way or another, but it was not sure how to allocate the $25,000 among the nine elements of damages submitted to it. Taking a shortcut, the jury simply awarded one-ninth of the $25,000 under each of the nine elements of damages. The jury specifically declined to award punitive damages. The jury's division was more numerically accurate than legally meritorious; there was no evidence in the record to support some of the items for which they awarded damages. On appropriate motion by defendant Camden, the court reduced those damages by $3,864.04, with a resulting verdict of $21,135.96.
Camden also moved for a reduction in the amount of the judgment on the verdict based on Dobson's settlement with Denny's. The judge ruled that a pro tanto--dollar-for-dollar--reduction would violate the policies of section 1983. Instead, the court adopted a kind of pro rata credit based on Rose v. Associated Anesthesiologists, 501 F.2d 806, 808 (D.C.Cir.1974). This pro rata concept did not "depend on a mechanical count of number of defendants," id. at 808 n. 5, but rather grouped the defendants by theory of liability. The court placed the defendants in four groups. Because Denny's, as the only private party conspirator, comprised one of the four groups and had settled, the judge reduced the verdict by twenty-five percent to reflect the settlement, leaving $15,851.97. Dobson was also awarded $6,340.79 in attorney's fees based on an evidentiary hearing.
Camden on appeal argues that Dobson's settlement with Denny's should have resulted in a dollar-for-dollar reduction in the amount awarded by the jury, leaving Dobson with a take-nothing judgment. Second, in regard to attorney's fees, Camden claims that the moral victory of a take-nothing judgment does not make Dobson a prevailing party entitled to attorney's fees. Alternatively, Camden claims that the attorney's fees award should also be subject to a dollar-for-dollar reduction based on the Denny's settlement.
In response to Camden's arguments Dobson makes an argument that, if correct, would mean that no setoff was justified. Dobson argues that the claim against Denny's for malicious prosecution, false arrest, and conspiracy, was separate from the claim against Camden for excessive force. Thus, no setoff could be given for the settlement. Alternatively, Dobson argues that the trial court's roughly equitable reduction was required by the policies of section 1983. Dobson did not cross-appeal, however, so even if we agree with his argument, we cannot increase the judgment in his favor.
One of the initial questions we face in deciding this case is determining what source of substantive law we shall use. In making this decision we are guided by 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1988 (1976), which states:
The jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters conferred on the district courts by the provisions of this Title ... for the protection of all persons in the United States in their civil rights, and for their vindication, shall be exercised and enforced in conformity with the laws of the United States, so far as such laws are suitable to carry the same into effect; but in all cases where they are not adapted to the object, or are deficient in the provisions necessary to furnish suitable remedies and punish offenses against law This statutory scheme establishes a three part test for finding substantive law. First, if federal law is neither deficient nor inapplicable, it will apply. Second, if federal law does not apply, state law does apply, unless, third, state law would be inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States.
the common law as modified and changed by the constitution and statutes of the State wherein the court having jurisdiction of such civil or criminal cause is held; so far as the same is not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States, shall be extended to and govern the said courts in the trial and disposition of the cause ....
As mentioned earlier, the instant case is complicated by the fact that the settling tortfeasor was being sued for both joint and separate torts. The conspiracy claim against Denny's made Denny's potentially liable for the same elements of damages as were found against Camden. Thus, we cannot take the simple solution suggested by Dobson and hold that the settlement with Denny's was entirely separate from the claims against Camden. Accordingly, we must address the complicated issues regarding settlements. For analytical simplicity, we shall first consider the problem in the context of pure joint tortfeasors. Once that question has been resolved we may then reintroduce the complexity of a settlement for both joint and separate torts. The issue before us, the effect of a settlement on a nonsettling tortfeasor, is merely the tip of the iceberg. It is impractical to consider the effect of a settlement without also considering the problem of contribution and, indeed, the very nature of joint liability. Accordingly, we must become voyageurs, embarking on the titanic journey of circumnavigating tort law.
One final preliminary matter is that of vocabulary. There are at least four schemes for measuring the effects of payment by one tortfeasor on the rights of a joint tortfeasor. The traditional common law approach is to do nothing. The principal behind the "no contribution" rule was that the courts should not assist a wrongdoer in spreading the consequences of his or her wrongful acts among other culpable parties. See, e.g., Merryweather v. Nixon, 101 Eng.Rep. 1337 (1799); W. Prosser, Handbook of the Law of Torts 307 (4th ed. 1971). A second approach is to allow pro tanto credit. Under this scheme, a settlement with a tortfeasor would produce a dollar-for-dollar reduction in an award against a nonsettling tortfeasor. See, e.g., Unif. Contribution Among...
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