Bustos v. City of Clovis
| Decision Date | 23 November 2015 |
| Docket Number | No. 33,405.,33,405. |
| Citation | 365 P.3d 67 |
| Parties | Art BUSTOS, Personal Representative for the Estate of Juventino Hernandez, Deceased, Odilia Palma De Ceballos, Wife, Denise Alejandra Ceballos–Palma, Daughter, individually, and Odilia Palma De Ceballos, as Parent and Next Friend of Guadalupe Ceballos–Palma and Sarah Ceballos–Palma, Minor Children, Plaintiffs–Appellants, v. CITY OF CLOVIS, Clovis Police Department, Officers Doug Ford, Eric Muller, and David Bryant, Individually and in their official capacities, Defendants–Appellees. |
| Court | Court of Appeals of New Mexico |
Lindsey Law Firm, L.L.C., Daniel R. Lindsey, Clovis, NM, for Appellants.
Beall & Biehler, Gregory L. Biehler, Gianna M. Mendoza, Albuquerque, NM, for Appellees.
{1} This case requires us to revisit the requirements for imposing joint and several liability on the original tortfeasor when there are successive tortfeasors. We conclude that the district court erred in granting summary judgment on Plaintiffs' wrongful death claim after ruling as a matter of law that joint and several liability does not apply in this case.
{2} In addition, we agree with Plaintiffs that Defendants' use of peremptory challenges resulted in the unconstitutional exclusion of Hispanics from the jury, and the defense verdicts on the claims that were tried must therefore be set aside. See Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 85, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986) (); Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co., 500 U.S. 614, 616, 111 S.Ct. 2077, 114 L.Ed.2d 660 (1991) ().
{3} Finally, we summarily address Plaintiffs' remaining arguments.
{4} Juventino Ceballos Hernandez, a Mexican national with a wife and three children, came to the United States with a valid visa to Clovis, New Mexico. Mr. Hernandez stayed with friends, Cruz and Petra Chavez, their three children, and Cruz's brother Ivan.
{5} About one month later, Mr. Hernandez suffered from some type of episode. He was eating with the Chavez family and began yelling and pounding his fists on the table. Petra went next door to ask her neighbor, who speaks English, to call for help. The neighbor called 911 telling the dispatcher that Mr. Hernandez was going "crazy" and to please send help.
{6} Officers Bryant and Muller arrived at the Chavez's residence. They knocked and yelled, "police" but did not receive an answer. They heard banging and yelling, which made Officer Bryant want to investigate the possibility of a crime. The door was open, so Officer Bryant stepped inside, with Officer Muller just behind him. Officer Bryant saw Mr. Hernandez sitting at the table eating, banging on the table, and yelling. Mr. Hernandez turned around to face the officers, smiled, waved, and then continued eating, banging on the table, and yelling. However, he was not harming anything or anybody, and no violence was taking place. Mr. Hernandez did not respond to questions Officer Bryant yelled at him in English, and although Officer Bryant knew that Mr. Hernandez spoke Spanish, Officer Bryant continued to yell at Mr. Hernandez.
{7} Suddenly, and without provocation, Mr. Hernandez ran toward the officers and punched or hit them. Officer Bryant arrested Mr. Hernandez for battery on a police officer, took him into police custody, and intended to take him to jail. The officers handcuffed Mr. Hernandez, but when they started taking him out the door, Mr. Hernandez kicked the door, and they all fell to the floor. Officers Bryant and Muller held Mr. Hernandez down on the floor until Officers Ford and Longley arrived. The officers were able to get Mr. Hernandez outside after putting him in ankle cuffs and securing the ankle cuffs to the handcuffs behind him by attaching a strap or a dog leash between the ankle cuffs and the handcuffs.
{8} With Mr. Hernandez "hogtied" in this manner, the four officers carried or dragged Mr. Hernandez outside. Once outside of the home, Mr. Hernandez was dragged down the driveway, and he suffered abrasions on his thighs. When a witness saw the officers dragging Mr. Hernandez across the rough driveway on his thighs, she "was horrified by what they did, because it was like they were laughing like they had won." Plaintiffs presented expert testimony that restraining Mr. Hernandez with the hogtie violated police standards of care under the circumstances.
{9} When the ambulance arrived, Mr. Hernandez was in the middle of the driveway on his stomach. His hands were held behind him by the handcuffs, and his legs were bent at the knees, sticking up in the air. Mr. Hernandez's thighs were abraded from being dragged across the rough pavement, and he had blood coming from his mouth. The EMTs put Mr. Hernandez on a long backboard face down and loaded him onto the stretcher. On the backboard, the EMTs secured Mr. Hernandez with spider straps. Spider straps have two points at the top, two points at the bottom, and three straps across the middle that hook on each side. Officer Bryant rode in the ambulance with Mr. Hernandez as he was under arrest and in police custody. Mr. Hernandez arrived at the emergency room lying face down on the backboard with the handcuffs and ankle cuffs fastened, in addition to the spider straps. His hands and feet were tied together behind his back, his feet crossed.
{10} Dr. Thibodeau was in charge of Mr. Hernandez's treatment at the hospital, and she made the decision to keep Mr. Hernandez restrained with his hands and feet bound together behind his back. Her plan was to keep Mr. Hernandez face down and in the restraints until he was calm and then remove the restraints. In order to calm Mr. Hernandez as quickly as possible, and get him out of the shackles, Dr. Thibodeau provided him with medications to chemically calm him down.
{11} After the medications were administered, Mr. Hernandez quit breathing. A nurse who was with him called a code blue, and the officers went into the room and removed the restraints. The hospital staff resuscitated Mr. Hernandez, however, he suffered brain damage and was in a vegetative state for the next seven months. His family returned him to Mexico where he subsequently died.
{12} The estate of Mr. Hernandez and his family (Plaintiffs) filed suit against the City of Clovis, the individual police officers, the hospital, and Dr. Thibodeau. Claims were made for wrongful death, negligent infliction of emotional distress, loss of consortium, battery, excessive force under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2012), and medical malpractice. Prior to trial, the hospital and Dr. Thibodeau settled the medical malpractice claims with the family and had no further involvement in the case. We therefore refer to the City of Clovis and the individual police officers herein as Defendants. Prior to trial the district court also granted summary judgment in favor of Defendants on the wrongful death claim and dismissed the claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress.
{13} The parties went to trial on the battery, excessive force, negligence, and loss of consortium claims. The district court granted Defendants a directed verdict on the battery, and the jury found for Defendants on the remaining claims.
{14} Plaintiffs appeal raising eleven issues but only brief five. The issues briefed are: (1) whether summary judgment was properly granted on the wrongful death claim; (2) whether defense counsel's peremptory strikes resulted in the unconstitutional exclusion of Hispanics from the jury; (3) whether the directed verdict on the battery claim was properly granted; (4) whether there was error in excluding the testimony of Plaintiffs' expert witness on hedonic damages; and (5) whether the verdict should be set aside due to defense counsel's statements during voir dire. We address the first two issues separately and summarily address the remaining issues, including those that were not briefed.
{15} Plaintiffs' wrongful death claim was based upon New Mexico tort law and for a violation of constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The district court granted Defendants' motion for summary judgment on the basis that "liability on the part of the officers ends when Mr. Hernandez was delivered to the [e]mergency [r]oom." We reverse on the New Mexico tort law claim and affirm on the federal claim.
{16} "Summary judgment is appropriate where there are no genuine issues of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Self v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 1998–NMSC–046, ¶ 6, 126 N.M. 396, 970 P.2d 582. "On appeal from the grant of summary judgment, we ordinarily review the whole record in the light most favorable to the party opposing summary judgment to determine if there is any evidence that places a genuine issue of material fact in dispute." City of Albuquerque v. BPLW Architects & Eng'rs, Inc., 2009–NMCA–081, ¶ 7, 146 N.M. 717, 213 P.3d 1146. We review summary judgment de novo and we resolve all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-movant and view the pleadings, affidavits, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions in a light most favorable to a trial on the merits. See Romero v. Philip Morris Inc., 2010–NMSC–035, ¶ 7, 148 N.M. 713, 242 P.3d 280. We do so because New Mexico courts "view summary judgment with disfavor, preferring a trial on the merits." Id. ¶ 8. "To determine which facts are material, the court must look to the substantive law governing the dispute." Id. ¶ 11 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). In this case, multiple tortfeasor liability and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 are the substantive law...
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