Boesing v. Spiess

• Decision Date: 29 August 2008
• Docket Number: No. 07-2499.,07-2499.
• Parties: Craig BOESING, Plaintiff/Appellee, v. Lt. Joe SPIESS, Defendant/Appellant Julius K. Hunter; Vincent Bommarito; Joann Freeman Morrow; Chris Goodson; Francis G. Slay, Defendants, John Doe, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

540 F.3d 886

Craig BOESING, Plaintiff/Appellee, v. Lt. Joe SPIESS, Defendant/Appellant Julius K. Hunter; Vincent Bommarito; Joann Freeman Morrow; Chris Goodson; Francis G. Slay, Defendants John Doe, Defendant.

No. 07-2499.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: March 14, 2008.

Filed: August 29, 2008.

Bart Matanic, AAG, argued, Jefferson City, MO (Michael Pritchett, AAG, on the brief), for appellant.

Teresa Michelle Young, argued, St. Louis, MO (Robert S. Rosenthal & Rebecca S. Verble, on the brief), for appellee.

Craig Boesing, Fernadina Beach, FL, pro se.

Before RILEY, GRUENDER, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.

SHEPHERD, Circuit Judge.

Craig Boesing, a Missouri prisoner, brought this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil rights action against Lieutenant Joe Spiess and other St. Louis police officers for using excessive force during Boesing's arrest. At trial, a jury found Spiess liable for Boesing's injuries and awarded him $5,000 in compensatory damages and $20,000 in punitive damages. The district court¹ denied Spiess's motion for a new trial and awarded $37,500 in attorney's fees. The court also ordered that $250 of Boesing's judgment be applied to satisfy the attorney's fee award. Spiess brings this appeal. We affirm.

I.

Because the jury ruled in Boesing's favor on his claim against Spiess, "we provide the following recitation of facts in the light most favorable to the jury verdict and give all reasonable inferences to [Boesing], although we include certain facts urged by [Spiess] on appeal in order to elucidate the arguments [he] presents." Wilson v. City of Des Moines, 442 F.3d 637, 639 (8th Cir.2006). St. Louis police officers arrested Boesing following a 45-minute foot chase on November 24, 2002. During the chase, Boesing climbed over a retaining wall and fell down a dirt embankment. When the chase ended, he immediately lay down on the ground. As he lay on his stomach, an unidentified officer kneeled on Boesing's back and handcuffed Boesing's hands behind his back. Spiess yelled and cursed at Boesing and ordered him to look up. When Boesing looked up, Spiess sprayed Boesing in the face with mace. When Boesing looked up again, he saw Spiess wielding a baton in his hand. Spiess then struck Boesing on his head and back with the baton. Boesing received 15 staples for a laceration on his head and sustained deep bruises on his back and side.

Spiess denied striking Boesing. Spiess and other officers testified that Boesing's injuries likely occurred when Boesing fell down the embankment. However, Boesing testified that he did not sustain any major injuries during the fall. Boesing also called an expert witness who testified that it was more likely that Boesing's injuries resulted from a blow with a blunt instrument rather than from falling down the embankment.

The district court submitted the case to the jury late in the afternoon on the second day of trial. Spiess asked that the following instruction be given to the jury: "The jury must consider that police officers are often forced to make judgments about the amount of force that is necessary in circumstances that are tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving." The district court rejected Spiess's proposed instruction. After deliberating for a short time, the jury was excused for the day. The jury returned the following morning. After a full day of deliberations, the jury sent a note to the trial judge stating that it had not reached a unanimous verdict. The district court gave the jury an Allen² charge, encouraging the jury to continue its deliberations. The jury returned the following day and reached a unanimous verdict after several hours of additional deliberation. On appeal, Spiess argues that the district court abused its discretion by denying his motion for a new trial, rejecting the proposed jury instruction, and applying only one percent of Boesing's judgment to satisfy the attorney's fee award.

II.

Spiess contends that the district court abused its discretion by denying his motion for a new trial on two separate grounds. "The decision to grant a new trial is left to the sound discretion of the trial court and this court will not disturb the trial court's decision absent a clear showing of abuse of discretion." Pullman v. Land O'Lakes, Inc., 262 F.3d 759, 762 (8th Cir.2001).

A.

Spiess argues that the district court abused its discretion in denying his motion for a new trial because the jury's verdict constituted an impermissible compromise verdict. If the district court finds that the jury reached a compromise verdict, the court should grant a new trial. See Haug v. Grimm, 251 F.2d 523, 527-28 (8th Cir.1958). A compromise verdict results when the jury, unable to agree on the issue of liability, compromises that disagreement by awarding a party inadequate damages. E.g., Carter v. Chicago Police Officers, 165 F.3d 1071, 1082 (7th Cir. 1998); Shugart v. Cent. Rural Elec. Coop., 110 F.3d 1501, 1505 (10th Cir.1997); Pagan v. Shoney's, Inc., 931 F.2d 334, 339 (5th Cir.1991) (per curiam); Mekdeci v. Merrell Nat'l Labs., 711 F.2d 1510, 1513 (11th Cir.1983). Spiess urges this court to consider several factors in reviewing the district court's decision, including the existence of a close question of liability, a grossly inadequate award of damages, and other circumstances such as the length of jury deliberations. While these factors may be useful, the overarching consideration must be whether the record, viewed in its entirety, clearly demonstrates the compromise nature of the verdict. E.g., Carter, 165 F.3d at 1083.

Viewing the record as a whole, we cannot conclude that the jury arrived at a compromise verdict in this case. Although some testimony supported both parties' versions of the facts and the jury deliberated for more than a day, there is absolutely no indication that the jury's damage award was inconsistent with its liability determination or otherwise grossly inadequate. Spiess claims that Boesing's $25,000 judgment "seems odd" because plaintiffs in other excessive force cases have recovered considerably more money. However, the damage award is consistent with the facts of this case. Boesing testified that he experienced pain and suffering during the two-week period it took his injuries to heal. The record contains no evidence that he incurred any medical expenses or other out-of-pocket costs, or that he suffered any long-lasting, negative health effects as a result of his injuries. Boesing did not suggest an amount to the jury; he merely asked for "fair and reasonable" compensatory damages, as well as punitive damages. Under these circumstances, we cannot say that Boesing's damage award was so inadequate as to indicate that the jury reached an impermissible compromise verdict. Spiess's argument amounts to nothing more than an expression of his dissatisfaction with the jury's verdict, and the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying Spiess's motion for a new trial.

B.

Spiess also contends that the district court abused its discretion by denying his motion for a new trial because the jury's verdict was a miscarriage of justice. "A new trial is appropriate when the `outcome is against the great weight of the evidence so as to constitute a miscarriage of justice.'" Christensen v. Titan Distrib., Inc., 481 F.3d 1085, 1098 (8th Cir.2007) (quoting Chalfant v. Titan Distrib., Inc., 475 F.3d 982, 992 (8th Cir.2007)). "When reviewing a jury verdict to decide whether it is against the weight of the evidence, the district court conducts its own review of the evidence to determine whether a miscarriage of justice has occurred." Peterson v. Gen. Motors Corp., 904 F.2d 436, 439 (8th Cir.1990). However, the trial judge may not usurp the functions of the jury, which weighs the evidence and credibility of witnesses. White v. Pence, 961 F.2d 776, 780 (8th Cir.1992).

Spiess offers two arguments in support of his position that a miscarriage of justice occurred. First, Spiess asserts that Boesing's testimony was discredited on cross-examination because Boesing testified that he was maced first and then beaten, while his initial pro se complaint stated that he was beaten first and then maced. Second, Spiess contends that a baton could not have caused the marks on Boesing's side because his arms, which were handcuffed behind his back, would also have sustained injuries had he been struck by a baton. The resolution of these credibility issues and factual conflicts is properly the role of the jury. See McBryde v. Carey Lumber Co., 819 F.2d 185, 189 (8th Cir.1987). Boesing presented sufficient evidence at trial for the district court to conclude that the outcome was not against the great weight of the evidence so as to constitute a miscarriage of justice. Therefore, the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying Spiess's motion for a new trial.

III.

Spiess argues that the district court erred when it rejected one of his proposed jury instructions. We review the district court's jury instructions for abuse of discretion. In re Prempro Prods. Liab. Litig., 514 F.3d 825, 829 (8th Cir.2008). "[A] party is entitled to an instruction on its theory of the case so long as it is legally correct and there is factual evidence to support it." Thornton v. First State Bank of Joplin, 4 F.3d 650, 652 (8th Cir.1993). However, "`[w]e afford the district court broad discretion in choosing the form and language of the instructions' and `will reverse a jury verdict only if the erroneous instruction affected a party's substantial rights.'" In re Prempro Prods., 514 F.3d at 829 (quoting Slidell, Inc. v. Millennium Inorganic Chems., Inc., 460 F.3d 1047, 1054 (8th Cir.2006)). "Our review is limited to [] whether the instructions, taken as a whole and viewed in the light of the evidence and applicable law, fairly and adequately submitted the issues [in the case] to the jury." Id.; accord Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel Corp. v. Beelman River Terminals,...