Coleman v. Smith, s. 85-1769
| Decision Date | 20 January 1987 |
| Docket Number | 85-3081 and 85-3084,Nos. 85-1769,85-1770,s. 85-1769 |
| Citation | 814 F.2d 1142 |
| Parties | Samuel COLEMAN, Plaintiff-Appellee, Cross-Appellant, v. Marion SMITH and Gordon Frierson, Defendants-Appellants, Cross-Appellees, and Village of Robbins, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Hal Ross Kessler, Kessler & Ex, Chicago, Ill., Mark H. Sterk, Odelson & Associates, Ltd., Evergreen Park, Ill., John K. Kneafsey, Chicago, Ill., for defendants-appellants, cross-appellees.
Abraham N. Goldman, Abraham N. Goldman & Assoc. Ltd., Chicago, Ill., for plaintiff-appellee, cross-appellant.
Before WOOD and COFFEY, Circuit Judges, and SWYGERT, Senior Circuit Judge.
These appeals emanate from a civil rights action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 by the former Special Investigator of the Village of Robbins against the former mayor, the former chief of police, and the Village itself. The original action challenged plaintiff's firing and later false arrest on charges of impersonating a police officer. Three issues are presented on this appeal: (1) whether the trial court erred in granting a default judgment; (2) whether the court abused its discretion in denying a Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b) motion filed by two of the defendants to vacate the default judgment; and (3) whether the court was justified in denying to the two individual defendants indemnification from the municipality.
We conclude that the trial court did not err in granting the default judgment or in denying the Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b) motion, but that it did err in failing to require the Village to underwrite the judgment assessed against the former mayor and the former chief of police because they were both acting within the scope of their employment.
The factual background of the case and the procedural history leading to the default judgment are set forth in two published opinions by the trial judge. They appear at 556 F.Supp. 460 (N.D.Ill.1983), and 101 F.R.D. 541 (N.D.Ill.1984). We shall, nonetheless, briefly sketch both the historical and procedural facts.
Beginning in 1948, Samuel Coleman served as a police officer for the Village of Robbins ("the Village"), a Chicago suburb. In 1977 the Village's Board of Trustees appointed Coleman to investigate reports of corruption within its police force. He found evidence of widespread police corruption, which also implicated Marion Smith, the Village mayor. In April 1978 Coleman reported his findings to the Board and the Cook County State's Attorney.
Without the Board's approval, Smith fired Coleman in an attempt to suppress the investigation. He also abolished the police department and asked the County Sheriff's officers to patrol the Village. Despite the mayor's efforts to terminate his employment, Coleman continued his investigation, and later in 1978 the Board renewed his appointment as special investigator. Smith refused to approve the Board's action. Coleman continued, however, in his investigatory role and in early 1979 reported to the Board that the Village's chief of police, Gordon Frierson, had attempted to obtain free services from certain Village business establishments. Frierson was reprimanded by the Board.
Thereafter Smith, Frierson, and unknown others decided to retaliate against Coleman. In June 1979 Frierson arrested Coleman in his home without a warrant and charged him with illegally impersonating a police officer. The charges were dismissed by the Cook County Circuit Court.
On the basis of these facts, as pleaded in his complaint, Coleman brought suit in the federal district court under section 1983, alleging that his constitutional rights had been violated and asking for both compensatory and punitive damages. Although other individuals were named defendants, only the Village, Smith, and Frierson remained such at the time the default judgment was entered on April 23, 1984.
Following a default judgment on liability, a jury trial was held solely on the issue of damages. The jury returned a verdict in varying amounts: (1) against Smith, $250,000 in compensatory damages for physical, mental, and emotional injury and $100,000 in punitive damages; (2) against Frierson, $125,000 in compensation for the same injuries charged to Smith and $100,000 in punitive damages; (3) against Smith and Frierson jointly and severally, $3,000 in compensatory damages for legal and medical expenses; and (4) against the Village, $34,000 in lost wages plus $14,842 in interest.
The three defendants moved in the alternative for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or for a new trial. Smith and Frierson also filed a motion under Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b)(6) to vacate the default judgment as to liability. The motions were denied and appeals were filed by the defendants. Subsequently, the plaintiff and defendants Smith and Frierson filed a joint motion in the district court for indemnification against the Village. The motion was denied, 618 F.Supp. 1280, and after a refusal to reconsider, appeals were taken from these rulings by Coleman, Smith, and Frierson.
We turn first to the Village's appeal from the grant of the default judgment and the attending award of damages and attorneys' fees. The merit of plaintiff's claim is not in issue, only the propriety of the default. On that phase of the case, the record is replete with instances of willful transgressions of discovery procedures which were committed by defense counsel over a two-year period.
The details of counsel's conduct are recited in Judge Shadur's 1984 opinion. We see no need to repeat all of them. We do, however, highlight some of the more egregious indications of dereliction and misfeasance. Even a cursory review of those abuses of the discovery process demonstrates that the district judge was correct in concluding that the defense counsel's conduct was highly improper.
The district court repeatedly ordered defendants to meet the terms of discovery and pretrial orders. The defendants' attorney failed to meet most of the major deadlines imposed by the district judge. The attorney denied knowledge of interrogatories and only produced key documents after discovery had closed and plaintiff's counsel threatened a document destruction jury instruction. Defendants also failed to tender the police department's personnel file on Coleman to the plaintiff's counsel until the close of discovery. The court ordered numerous monetary and preclusive sanctions to prompt defendants' compliance with discovery. Finally, on February 24, 1984, Coleman's counsel filed a motion for default based on defense counsel's failure to help complete the final pretrial order required by the court. Defense counsel failed to provide promised written statements for inclusion in the pretrial order and failed to attend meetings for the purpose of completing the order. Instead of granting Coleman's motion, the district court granted defense counsel a reprieve; the district judge imposed monetary sanctions and ordered defense counsel to take the "laboring oar" in preparation of the order to be filed March 28, 1984. Counsel failed to comply with the court's instructions. At that point, plaintiff filed his motion for default.
In granting the default judgment, the trial judge wrote:
Defendants' actions (or more accurately inactions) have stymied Coleman's ability to proceed with this lawsuit. They and their counsel have repeatedly ignored this Court's orders and warnings regarding non-compliance. It is unreasonable to require Coleman, his counsel or this Court to engage in a constant battle against this recalcitrant and obstructionist behavior. Other less drastic sanctions have not succeeded in prodding either defendants or their counsel to devote the required attention to this case.
The record fully supports the judge's comments.
We hardly need further characterize the conduct of defense counsel. Indeed, the Village has done it for us in its brief: "What follows the filing of the complaint is a litany of discovery abuse perhaps unparalleled in the annals of civil litigation."
Fed.R.Civ.P. 16(f) authorizes the sanction of judgment by default for noncompliance with discovery and pretrial orders, and the extreme circumstances of this case fully justified the trial judge's imposition of that sanction. Nevertheless, the Village asks us to reverse that ruling on the grounds that it should not be held responsible for its attorney's misconduct and that if the judgment is allowed to stand, it would impose an intolerable financial hardship on the Village's citizenry. We reject these contentions.
When a defendant fails to demonstrate reasonable diligence in keeping track of progress of a lawsuit, a district court does not abuse its discretion in refusing to relieve that defendant from a default judgment. Ben Sager Chemicals Int'l v. E. Targosz & Co., 560 F.2d 805, 811 (7th Cir.1977). The record shows that the Village officials were not reasonably diligent in watching over the lawsuit, even though they were fully aware of counsel's failure to comply with discovery orders and to meet deadlines. Moreover, the new mayor and the new chief of police were penalized $510.00 in attorney's fees after failing to attend a scheduled deposition hearing. After a second failure to appear, they were ordered to pay an additional $1,126.25. The Village willingly paid these sanctions time and again. A third failure to comply brought a contempt proceeding. These instances alone show that the Village officials were not without blame.
Moreover, Link v. Wabash RR, 370 U.S. 626, 82 S.Ct. 1386, 8 L.Ed.2d 734 (1962), rebuts the Village's argument:
There is certainly no merit to the contention that dismissal of petitioner's claim because of his counsel's unexcused conduct imposes an unjust penalty on the client. Petitioner voluntarily chose this attorney as his representative in the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
In re Walters
...for the violation of pretrial orders pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 16(f) is the entry of a default judgment. See, e.g., Coleman v. Smith, 814 F.2d 1142 (7th Cir.1987). The Court also has the inherent power to invoke sanctions for conduct which abuses the judicial process. Barnhill v. United Sta......
-
Select Creations, Inc. v. Paliafito America, Inc., 91-C-1240
...orders regarding the same, and to appear for their depositions...." Di Mucci, 879 F.2d at 1494 (emphasis added). In Coleman v. Smith, 814 F.2d 1142, 1146 (7th Cir.1987), the court upheld entry of default judgment against the defendant for repeated failure to comply with pretrial scheduling ......
-
Argento v. Village of Melrose Park
...statute is Ill.Rev.Stat. ch. 85, Sec. 9-102. Although often referred to as an indemnity provision, see, e.g., Coleman v. Smith, 814 F.2d 1142, 1148 (7th Cir.1987), Sec. 9-102 actually makes a local public entity directly liable for the payment of certain tort judgments against its employees......
-
Carrero v. Farrelly
...the case-by-case nature of a potential conflict of interest.8 See Chavez v. New Mexico , 397 F.3d 826 (10th Cir. 2005) ; Coleman v. Smith , 814 F.2d 1142 (7th Cir. 1987).Here, it is in Officer Farrelly's interest to contend that, at all relevant times, he was acting within the scope of his ......