Sims v. Jefferson Downs Racing Ass'n, Inc., 83-3606

Citation778 F.2d 1068
Decision Date18 December 1985
Docket NumberNo. 83-3606,83-3606
PartiesThomas J. SIMS, Plaintiff-Appellee, Cross-Appellant, v. JEFFERSON DOWNS RACING ASSOCIATION, INC., et al., Defendants-Appellants, Cross- Appellees, Stewards B.B. Rayburn and Claude Mauberret, Jr., Defendants-Appellants, Cross- Appellees.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit)

Shushan, Meyer, Jackson, McPherson & Herzog, Donald A. Meyer, New Orleans, La., for Jefferson, Krantz & Leblanc.

William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Patricia N. Bowers, Asst. Atty. Gen., La. Dept. of Justice, New Orleans, La., for Rayburn, et al.

Keaty & Keaty, Thomas S. Keaty, Elliot Snellings, New Orleans, La., for plaintiff-appellee, cross-appellant.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Before WISDOM, GARWOOD, and DAVIS, Circuit Judges.

WISDOM, Circuit Judge:

This case comes before us for the second time. 1 The plaintiff/appellee, Thomas J. Sims, a horse trainer, brought this suit under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983, seeking injunctive relief and damages for his expulsion from the premises of the Jefferson Downs Race Track in Kenner, Louisiana. The issues in the case, which were tried to the court, were bifurcated. The district court first found that there was sufficient state action to support jurisdiction over the Sec. 1983 claim, but denied the claim for injunctive relief. In later proceedings, the district court found the defendants liable for damages and for attorneys fees. The defendants appeal from the finding of state action, the award of damages, and the allocation of responsibility for those damages among the defendants. The plaintiff cross-appeals from the denial of injunctive relief and from the award of damages, alleging that the district court should have awarded punitive damages and that the damages awarded for the violations of the plaintiff's constitutional rights were too low. The plaintiff also appeals from the award of attorneys fees, alleging that the district court abused its discretion in reducing the hours claimed and in awarding too low an hourly rate. We affirm in part the finding of state action, but remand for further proceedings on Sims's First Amendment claim, and on the amount of compensatory damages, punitive damages and attorneys fees that should be awarded. We hold that the plaintiff is entitled to an injunction prohibiting Jefferson Downs and its private employees from unilaterally excluding him from the premises without the proper action of the appropriate state officials.

I.

Review of this case on appeal requires full recital of the facts. Dates are important.

The plaintiff, Thomas Sims, a horse trainer and holder of an owner-trainer's license, cofounded a union of horse trainers, the Louisiana Thoroughbred Trainers Association (LTTA), to improve conditions at the Jefferson Downs Race Track. Sims made complaints about the conditions at Jefferson Downs, which were publicized in a newspaper article. On August 23, 1975, the day after the article appeared, the general manager of Jefferson Downs, Marie Krantz, wrote a letter (rejection letter) to Sims barring him from all premises owned and operated by Jefferson Downs.

Charles LeBlanc, one of the track "stewards", delivered the rejection letter to Sims. Three stewards serve at each track in Louisiana. One is appointed by the Louisiana State Racing Commission (Commission), a state agency overseeing the Louisiana horse racing industry, and two are appointed by the track, subject to the approval of the Commission. The stewards supervise the daily conduct of racing at the track and generally supervise all track personnel directly connected with racing. The stewards may override track management in matters pertaining to racing. See La.Rev.Stat.Ann. Sec. 4:147 (West Supp.1985); id. Sec. 4:172 (West 1973); Louisiana State Racing Commission, Rules of Racing 11-6:4, 11-6:5 (1978).

LeBlanc summoned Sims over the loudspeaker of the track. When Sims arrived in the steward's office, Krantz's letter was delivered to Sims in LeBlanc's presence. A few days later, Krantz wrote to the Commission and requested that it consider whether Sims had violated Louisiana Rule of Racing 14(k), which proscribes incitement of a strike and similar activity. 2 The following day, August 28, 1975, the Commission met in Shreveport to consider Sims's alleged violation of Rule 14(k). During this meeting, the chairman of the Commission informed its members that he had met informally with counsel for Sims and Jefferson Downs, and that the parties had reached a "gentlemen's agreement". Under the terms of this informal agreement, Sims would relinquish his owner-trainer's license for the period August 28, 1975 through November 8, 1975, but would be permitted to continue his activities as an officer of the LTTA. The parties also agreed that Sims would be restricted from entering certain portions of the track known as the "backside"--areas of the track requiring a license to enter. The agreement was read into the Commission minutes and had the force of a Commission order.

On September 2, 1975, Sims went to the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) trailer, located on the grounds of Jefferson Downs, where LTTA maintained an office. Track security guards ordered Sims to leave the area or face arrest, and Sims obeyed. The same day, Krantz wrote to Sims and directed him to enter only those areas that were open to the general public. On September 4, after receiving Krantz's letter, Sims returned to the HBPA trailer and again was evicted from the premises by security guards acting on Krantz's orders.

On September 6, Sims wrote the stewards requesting a hearing concerning his evictions of August 23rd and August 27th. On September 13, the stewards informed Sims that they had no control over the matter because his "license status" had not been affected. On September 15, Sims wrote the Commission and requested a hearing at their next available meeting. The Commission acknowledged his letter but did not take any action on his request for a hearing.

After the period of the "gentlemen's agreement" ended on November 8, 1975, Sims applied for and received a jockey's agent license from the Commission, and was hired as an agent by two jockeys. On March 22, 1976, he went to the track kitchen at Jefferson Downs, an area open to the general public, to conduct business for his clients. While there Sims was arrested by the Kenner Police Department on a complaint sworn by Krantz who alleged that Sims was in violation of the August 23, 1975, rejection letter.

On April 2, 1976, Sims filed suit in state court, seeking a temporary restraining order and injunction against Jefferson Downs to prevent Jefferson Downs from evicting him from the track. The court granted the temporary restraining order, but denied the injunction on April 19. Sims did not appeal this decision. On April 20, Krantz wrote to Sims to reiterate that her August 23 rejection letter was still in force and that he was barred from Jefferson Downs. On May 18, Krantz wrote the stewards requesting that because Sims had been in the track kitchen on April 29, the stewards should "take appropriate action" against Sims. In response, the stewards issued Ruling 66 denying Sims all privileges of the grounds of Jefferson Downs. The stewards issued Ruling 66 without a hearing.

Both Sims and Krantz then wrote to the Commission. Sims asked the Commission to hold a full hearing on his expulsion, on the ground that he had been denied a hearing before the issuance of the ruling by the stewards. Krantz asked the Commission to take action against Sims for his alleged violation of Rule of Racing 14(k). The stewards, in an attempt to rectify an error in issuing Ruling 66 based on an erroneous interpretation of the effect of the state court's denial of the injunction sought by Sims, issued Ruling 74, again without a hearing, which had the same effect of barring Sims from Jefferson Downs.

On May 31, 1976, Sims sent another letter to the Commission, requesting a full hearing on the two rulings by the stewards. In response, the Commission held a hearing on July 15, 1976. The Commission found that Sims held a valid license and that the stewards had failed to provide Sims a hearing before issuing their rulings. The Commission ordered the stewards to provide a hearing. On July 19, 1976, rather than holding a hearing, the stewards rescinded Rulings 66 and 74.

Sims then filed suit in federal district court against Jefferson Downs, Krantz, and the Commission under 42 U.S.C. Secs. 1981, 1983, 1985(3), and the First and Fourteenth Amendments. He alleged deprivation of constitutional rights in his eviction without a hearing from the track because of his exercise of First Amendment freedoms, and sought damages and injunctive relief. Jefferson Downs, Krantz, and the Commission filed motions for summary judgment or to dismiss or strike claims. Sims amended his complaint to add as defendants the members of the Commission and the stewards in their individual capacities. The district court granted the motion for summary judgment as to defendants Krantz and Jefferson Downs, and dismissed the Sec. 1981 and the Sec. 1985 claims against the Commission.

On appeal, this Court affirmed the dismissal of the Sec. 1981 and Sec. 1985(3) claims, but reversed the dismissal of the Sec. 1983 claim against Krantz and Jefferson Downs. We remanded for a factual finding whether there had been sufficient state action in the expulsion to support a claim under Sec. 1983. We noted that "there are substantial factual indicia that Jefferson Downs had availed itself of the Commission's regulatory powers in aid of its expulsion of Sims from its track, particularly through the track stewards...." Sims v. Jefferson Downs, Inc., 5 Cir.1980, 611 F.2d 609, 612-13.

On remand, the district court bifurcated the issues for trial and first considered the issue whether the defendants' actions...

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