Amato v. City of Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

• Decision Date: 15 March 1999
• Docket Number: Docket No. 97-9623
• Citation: 170 F.3d 311
• Parties: Paul AMATO, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK, Saratoga Springs Police Department, Robert Flanagan, Srgt., also known as Sergeant Flanagan, John Doe, Lynn Thomas, Lt., Karyn L. Thomas, as Personal Representative of Lynn Thomas, Deceased, Kenneth E. King, Chief, Lewis J. Benton, III, Commissioner and Karyn L Thomas, as Personal Representative of Lt. Lynn Thomas, Deceased, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

Page 311

170 F.3d 311

Paul AMATO, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK, Saratoga Springs Police

Department, Robert Flanagan, Srgt., also known as Sergeant

Flanagan, John Doe, Lynn Thomas, Lt., Karyn L. Thomas, as

Personal Representative of Lynn Thomas, Deceased, Kenneth E.

King, Chief, Lewis J. Benton, III, Commissioner and Karyn L

Thomas, as Personal Representative of Lt. Lynn Thomas,

Deceased, Defendants-Appellees.

Docket No. 97-9623.

United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Argued Jan. 13, 1999.

Decided March 15, 1999.

David Brickman, Albany, NY, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Veronica O'Dell, Glens Falls, NY, for Defendants-Appellees, City of Saratoga Springs, Saratoga Springs Police Department, Lt. Lynn Thomas.

John H. Pennock, Jr., Clifton Park, NY, for Defendant-Appellee, Kenneth E. King.

Before: JACOBS and SOTOMAYOR, Circuit Judges, and SAND, ^* District Judge.

Judge JACOBS concurs in a separate opinion.

SAND, District Judge:

A. Procedural Background

Following a post-arrest altercation with police, plaintiff-appellant Paul Amato ("Amato") brought this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988 against the City of Saratoga In a Memorandum, Decision and Order, dated July 10, 1997, Chief Judge Thomas J. McAvoy of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York granted summary judgment to King and Benton in their personal capacities, and dismissed any action against them in their official capacities as duplicative of Amato's claim against the City and the Police Department. In the same decision, the district court also bifurcated for trial the proceedings against Flanagan and Thomas, the two police officers personally involved in the altercation, from the proceedings against the City and the Police Department.

Springs ("City"), the Saratoga Springs Police Department ("Police Department"), the police chief, Kenneth King ("King"), the police commissioner, Lewis Benton III ("Benton"), Sgt. Robert Flanagan ("Flanagan"), and Lt. Lynn Thomas ("Thomas") ¹.

Following a four-day trial on Amato's claims against Flanagan and Thomas, the jury found Flanagan liable for use of excessive force during the incident and Thomas liable for his failure to intervene in the altercation. The jury awarded Amato no compensatory damages, but did award him nominal damages in the amount of one dollar, and punitive damages against Flanagan. ² After the jury verdict, the district court denied Amato's post-trial motions. The court also dismissed Amato's claim against the City and the Police Department from the bench without any recorded explanation.

On appeal, Amato contends that the district court erred by: (1) failing to grant him a new trial on the issue of damages following the jury's award of no compensatory damages; (2) bifurcating the proceedings; (3) dismissing the claim against the City and the Police Department; and (4) granting summary judgment to King. We affirm in part, vacate in part and remand to the district court for reconsideration consistent with this opinion.

B. Factual Background

On May 26, 1994, Amato was arrested following a disturbance at his father's pizzeria restaurant. He was brought to the Saratoga Springs police station and handcuffed by one hand to the booking room counter. During the booking process, an altercation took place between Amato, and police officers Thomas and Flanagan. The altercation, much of which was recorded on videotape, gave rise to this action.

Although some aspects of the incident are in dispute, many of the basic facts are uncontested. During the process of booking Amato on charges of disorderly conduct, Thomas reached across the booking room counter and slapped Amato on the side of the head. Very soon thereafter, Flanagan entered the booking room area and grabbed Amato. While maintaining his hold on Amato, Flanagan yelled at him, and after a period of time, released him. Amato, whose back had been to the wall, slid down to the floor, where he remained for a few minutes.

While these basic facts are not in dispute, at trial, the parties presented contradictory evidence as to the nature and extent of the altercation. Amato testified that Flanagan had choked him and slammed him into the wall, while Flanagan testified that he grabbed Amato only by the jaw, and that Amato had backed up against the wall himself. Furthermore, Amato presented evidence suggesting that he had fallen to the ground unconscious, while other witnesses testified that Amato had been conscious and kicking while he was on the floor. The videotape, which was shown to the jury, depicted most of the incident, although the image of Amato while on the floor was out of camera range.

Following the incident, Amato did not file a personnel complaint with the Police Department. His criminal defense lawyer did, however, request a copy of the videotape that depicted the incident. At that point, King, the police chief, began an investigation of the

altercation. King eventually concluded that no police misconduct had occurred.

DISCUSSION

A. Trial Court's Denial of a New Trial on Damages

Amato contends that the trial court erred by failing to grant a new trial on damages when the jury made a finding of excessive force, yet did not award compensatory damages. On review of such claims, appellate courts must afford the jury's findings and the district court's decision great deference. We will reverse only if the district court's decision not to grant a new trial constitutes an abuse of discretion. See, e.g., Atkins v. New York City, 143 F.3d 100, 102 (2d Cir.1998). "A motion for a new trial ordinarily should not be granted unless the trial court is convinced that the jury has reached a seriously erroneous result or that the verdict is a miscarriage of justice." Id. (quoting Lightfoot v. Union Carbide Corp., 110 F.3d 898, 911 (2d Cir.1997) (omitting internal notations and quotations)). Furthermore, we review all evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. See, e.g., id.

As a preliminary matter, we note that a jury finding of excessive force does not automatically entitle a claimant to compensatory damages as a matter of law. See id. at 103. In certain circumstances, a jury could reasonably determine that compensatory damages are inappropriate even where excessive force was used. See, e.g., Haywood v. Koehler, 78 F.3d 101, 104 (2d Cir.1996) ("[W]e have ruled that a finding of excessive force does not, as a matter of law, entitle the victim to an award of compensatory damages."). For instance, where a victim's claims of injury lack credibility, or where the injuries lack monetary value, a jury could reasonably award nominal damages. See, e.g., Briggs v. Marshall, 93 F.3d 355, 360 (7th Cir.1996). Second, where both justified and unjustified force were used, the jury could conclude that the injuries resulted from the justified use of force. See, e.g., Gibeau v. Nellis, 18 F.3d 107, 110 (2d Cir.1994).

After examining the evidence presented to the jury at trial on the issue of compensable injury, we cannot conclude that the jury's decision to award Amato nominal damages was seriously erroneous or a miscarriage of justice.

Amato testified that he suffered numerous injuries as a result of the booking room incident. These alleged injuries ranged from fairly immediate problems, such as a sore wrist, stiff and bruised neck, headache and swollen shoulder, to more long-term problems such as paranoia, loss of libido, loss of memory and mathematic ability, trouble sleeping, depression, digestive problems, loss of appetite, and aggressive behavior. Amato's wife corroborated many of these complaints through her testimony at trial. Amato also presented the testimony of two non-treating doctors, one neurologist and one neuropsychologist, who opined that Amato suffered from postconcussive injury and dysthemia.

The most pertinent piece of evidence, which was shown several times during the course of the trial, was the videotape of the booking room incident. This tape showed Flanagan's physical interaction with Amato, as well as Amato's reaction and demeanor a few minutes following the event. ³ As disturbing and excessive as the jury may have found Flanagan's behavior, the jury could reasonably have concluded that the interaction as depicted in the tape did not lead to any physical injury to Amato. While the actions of Flanagan--yelling, grabbing, possibly shoving Amato into the wall--were clearly aggressive, they were not of the kind that must necessarily lead to compensable physical injury. Amato's own behavior when in view of the camera approximately five minutes after the incident also could lead a jury to conclude that he was not injured by the altercation. Amato can be seen standing at the booking counter, with a casual demeanor, appearing fairly alert, and not showing signs of experiencing pain.

We note that the introduction at trial of the videotape distinguishes this case from Apart from the videotape, the jury was presented with other evidence that could reasonably lead them to doubt the credibility of Amato's claims of injury. First, Amato provided inconsistent statements regarding his memory of the event and his injuries. For example, while he testified at trial that he remembered the booking room incident, his trial doctor testified that Amato had told him that he possessed no memory of the incident. Second, Amato testified that he felt pain in his wrist the morning following his arrest. However, he was impeached with his inconsistent deposition testimony in which he stated that his wrist began to hurt in November, 1994, months after his arrest. Furthermore, on the issue of sexual dysfunction, there was testimony that Amato's and his wife's reports of their sexual relationship may have been inconsistent with each other.

cases such as Wheatley v. Beetar, 637 F.2d 863 (2d Cir.1980), where the Court found that the uncontradicted evidence of the victim's...